NEW DELHI: Punjab governemnt has sought special central assistance for the welfare of scheduled castes, as the state has the highest population density of this segment in the country.

Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal made this demand in a special meeting held here at Shastri Bhawan with Union Social Justice & Empowerment Minister  Meira Kumar late last evening.   The Chief Minister urged  Meira Kumar to allot special funds for the schemes exclusively designed by the state government to cater to the needs of the SCs/BCs population.  

She also conceded to the proposal of the state government to establish rehabilitation centres for the disabled persons at Amritsar, Hoshiarpur, Moga and Nawanshaher.

Agreeing in principle with the observations of Chief Minister,  Meira Kumar assured Badal that Centre would adopt a pro-active and liberal attitude towards any proposal received from state government in this regard.  Badal said that the state government would be sending a comprehensive proposal on the issue in the coming weeks.   He said that the state was working on an elaborate proposal to grant pre and post matric scholarships to the eligible beneficiaries.  Badal also agreed with GoI's broad policy para-meters on education of those engaged in what is generally referred as 'unclean profession'. Badal said that the state government had already factored this into its plan for the truly poor and backward sections of the society.  

Making a strong plea for giving grant to Punjab for the education and houses for houseless SC families, the Chief Minister urged Meira Kumar to give top priority to the state.   The Chief Minister also demanded the setting up of 10 Adarsh Schools in rural areas for the 'gifted poor' students at a cost of Rs.50 crore besides opening 50 scheduled castes vocational training centers at the same amount.   He also asked the Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment to release balance amount of Rs.5 crore for the completion of Regional Spinal Injury Centre at Mohali on the pattern of Indian Spinal Injury Centre, New Delhi.  

The Chief Minister also impressed upon the Union Social Justice Minister for giving a grant for the construction of old age homes by NGOs under the centrally sponsored scheme.   He underscored the need that education and economic stability were the two factors which could ameliorate the lot of poor and under privileged. 

Badal reiterated that the state government was committed to abolish scavenging and it would soon submit a comprehensive report of the persons still involved in this profession with their names and complete addresses to ensure their 100% rehabilitation in the society at the expanse of Central Government.  

Meanwhile, Meira Kumar said that the Ministry had also a special scheme for the disabled persons to provide barrier free passage to them in one of the administrative training institutes and universities in the state.   She also urged the Chief Minister for effective implementation of anti-atrocity and un-touchability Acts in the state to ensure a sense of security and social freedom to the oppressed sections of the society.

Prominent amongst others who attended the meeting included Principal Secretary to Chief Minister DS Guru, Secretary Social Security & Welfare of SC/BC Narinderjit Singh and Additional Principal Secretary to Chief Minister Gagandeep Singh Brar.