Hyderabad: With the Telangana govt finally making the fine print of its caste survey public, the data has revealed that 29% of the state’s welfare benefits go to relatively better-off castes. Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes remain the most deprived social groups in the state, but high-budget, land-linked schemes such as Rythu Bharosa are not aligned with that deprivation.The Telangana Socio-Economic, Educational, Employment, Political and Caste (SEEEPC) Survey 2024 says 11 welfare schemes together account for 2.54 crore beneficiaries and involve about Rs 1 lakh crore in allocations. Of the total beneficiaries, 1.8 crore belong to the 135 more backward castes, giving them a 71% share. This means 29% of beneficiaries are from castes with a Composite Backwardness Index (CBI) below 81, that is, castes that are relatively less backward in this framework.The welfare schemes listed are: free bus travel for women, Gruha Jyothi free electricity to homes, Rythu Bharosa, the input subsidy to farmers, Cheyuta Pension, subsidised LPG cylinder, Aarogyasri, crop loan waiver, free electricity for agriculture, Kalyana Lakshmi/Shadi Mubarak, Rythu Bhima and Govt Housing. The report notes that Rythu Bharosa and the crop loan waiver together consume nearly 60% of total welfare spend, while subsidised electricity for agriculture and households accounts for over 18%.The survey’s CBI places the state average at 81. Scheduled Castes recorded a score of 96 and Scheduled Tribes 95, making them the most backward major social groups in Telangana. General castes, by contrast, recorded a score of 31, indicating a far better developmental position.Analysis by the Independent Experts Working Group says 135 of the 242 identified castes are more backward than the state average, and together account for 67% of Telangana’s population.The analysis says 99% of all STs, 97% of all SCs and 71% of all BCs fall in the “more backward than average” category. Yet the survey suggests that welfare design does not always track this social reality.Landless are more backwardThat mismatch is clearest in agricultural support schemes. The group found that a significant number of beneficiaries of high-budget schemes, such as Rythu Bharosa and free power for agriculture, are from General Castes, even though they are the least backward social category. SCs account for only 12% of beneficiaries, despite being three times as backward.The report links this to historical landlessness. Since these schemes are tied to land ownership rather than backwardness or actual cultivation, communities with weaker land access are left with a smaller share. The survey notes that 31.7% of SCs work as agricultural labourers, nearly six times the rate among General Castes.The survey and the expert group argue that this is not just a gap in coverage but a structural flaw in universal welfare design. By routing support through land ownership, schemes meant to provide broad relief end up reproducing older social advantages. The report contrasts this with a more targeted approach based on deprivation, arguing for a shift from welfare distributed through a broad “social justice well” to resources reaching needy households directly through a “share proportional to backwardness” model.Demand for redesign of farm welfareKiran Kumar Vissa of Rythu Swarajya Vedika said Rythu Bandhu by the previous govt was “ill-conceived” and that the current govt, instead of correcting it, was continuing it in the same form. He said social and economic justice required greater support for those with fewer resources. According to him, there should be a ceiling, suggesting that up to five acres of agricultural land should be treated as the limit for support, since farmers with around five acres are generally considered poor farmers.Vissa also argued that actual cultivators should be brought into the support system. Tenant farmers had a stronger case for investment support and added that 36% of farmers in Telangana were tenant cultivators, with SCs, STs and BCs forming around 80% of them.
