Minister for Welfare of Scheduled Castes (SC), Scheduled Tribes (ST) and Backward Classes K.A. Thulasi said here on Saturday (August 1, 2026) that the SC/ST department had begun steps to clear more than 50,000 pending files in the State.

She said that 4,970 files were disposed of through file disposal adalats held over the past two days. Completing projects under the government’s 100-day action programme within the deadline is the next priority, she added.

The Minister said the department was taking measures to prevent dropout among tribal students and that the appointment of mentor teachers would be completed soon.

The delay in appointments was due to a court case filed by some temporary teachers who were removed from service, she said.

She added that a survey of tribal students had been done and the required number of teachers identified. The Minister also said she had visited model residential schools and post-metric hostels to review issues faced by students and staff. Urgent problems had been addressed and the remaining issues would be resolved soon, she said.

The Minister also announced a special housing scheme for SC/ST communities to replace the LIFE Mission model.

Steps have been initiated to clear pending e-grants for students. The Minister said the previous government’s pending dues running into crores of rupees were expected to be cleared by November.

Published - August 01, 2026 09:13 pm IST