Bengaluru, July 21 (SocialNews.XYZ) The Karnataka government on Tuesday held an extensive meeting with leaders of various Dalit organisations at Vidhana Soudha, during which Deputy Chief Minister and Revenue Minister G. Parameshwara announced that backlog vacancies in universities and major government departments would be filled.
Addressing reporters after the meeting, Parameshwara said the state government is already in the process of recruiting 72,000 personnel across departments and assured that Scheduled Caste (SC) and Scheduled Tribe (ST) candidates would receive reservations as mandated by law. He added that unfilled reserved posts would also be taken up separately.
“We will fill backlog vacancies in universities and major departments. I will discuss the matter with the Chief Minister and ensure that these positions are filled,” Parameshwara said.
The Deputy Chief Minister said leaders of Dalit organisations had raised several issues concerning scholarships, implementation of welfare schemes, land allocation, employment opportunities, and alleged injustices faced by members of the SC/ST communities.
Regarding scholarships, Parameshwara said the government would examine demands to increase financial assistance for SC/ST students. He noted that post-matric scholarship recipients currently receive Rs 1,800, while many students incur expenses of nearly Rs 3,000.
“The government scholarship amount is inadequate. We will discuss the matter with the Chief Minister and consider increasing it in the next budget,” he said.
He also said complaints had been received that women from Dalit communities were not fully benefiting from the state’s guarantee schemes. “We will collect district-wise and taluk-wise information and take corrective measures wherever Dalit women have been left out of these schemes,” he said.
The Deputy Chief Minister further assured action on concerns raised by nomadic and tribal communities regarding alleged harassment by forest officials and promised to examine demands to streamline the implementation of the Scheduled Caste Sub-Plan (SCP) and Tribal Sub-Plan (TSP).
Parameshwara said Dalit leaders had also highlighted issues in the allocation of industrial land by the Karnataka Industrial Areas Development Board (KIADB) and sought better access to housing layouts and loans through the Karnataka State Financial Corporation (KSFC).
In a significant announcement, the minister revealed that the Revenue Department had constituted a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to examine allegations that nearly 150 acres of land belonging to SC/ST communities are under the control of Art of Living founder Sri Sri Ravi Shankar.
“The SIT will verify whether 150 acres belonging to SC/ST communities were acquired. The investigation will be headed by Bengaluru Divisional Commissioner Aditya Amalan Biswas,” he said, adding that the decision coincidentally came on the same day the issue was raised during the meeting.
Parameshwara also said the government is considering special recruitment measures for highly qualified candidates from tribal communities, including 12 PhD holders who are currently unemployed.
Responding to questions on Permanent Resident Certificates (PRCs), the Deputy Chief Minister reiterated that there is a clear distinction between citizenship and residency certificates.
Commenting on the alleged attack on officials during the Shivajinagar encroachment removal drive, the Deputy Chief Minister said strict action would be taken against those responsible.
Source: IANS
About Gopi
Gopi Adusumilli is a Programmer. He is the editor of SocialNews.XYZ and President of AGK Fire Inc.
He enjoys designing websites, developing mobile applications and publishing news articles on current events from various authenticated news sources.
When it comes to writing he likes to write about current world politics and Indian Movies. His future plans include developing SocialNews.XYZ into a News website that has no bias or judgment towards any.
He can be reached at gopi@socialnews.xyz