Delhi SC/ST board to bring welfare schemes to masses: Minister

New Delhi, July 18 (IANS) Delhi Social Welfare Minister Rajendra Pal Gautam on Wednesday said that the newly-elected 144-member Scheduled Castes/Scheduled Tribes Welfare Board will ensure schemes will reach community members across the city.

With an objective to bring scheduled caste/tribal schemes to the masses, this board will, time to time, give suggestions and meet the government to bring the benefits of all schemes to the needy, and implement new schemes, he said, while presiding over its first meeting.

For the first time, it has happened that 144 members have been inducted on the board so that access to schemes for the social welfare of Scheduled Caste/Scheduled Tribes can reach every area of Delhi, said an official statement.

In his address to the board members, Gautam said: "It is only in the Delhi Government board where work is done, the boards of other states are only for name's sake."

"For the development of Scheduled Caste/Scheduled Tribes, the Delhi government has implemented many schemes in the previous years, one of which is 'Jai Bhima Chief Minister Pratibha Vikas Yojana' which gives an opportunity to fulfil their dreams," he added.

The Minister also announced that a meeting of the board will be held every three months to review progress.