Parliament on Wednesday accorded special status to six backward districts in the Hyderabad-Karnataka region by passing a Constitution Amendment Bill with an overwhelming majority.
The Constitution (118th Amendment) Bill, which inserts a new Article 371-J to grant special recognition to Gulbarga, Yadgir, Raichur, Bidar, Koppal and Bellary—the backward districts of North Karnataka—was passed in the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday with all the 163 members present in the Upper House voting in favour of the proposal. The Lok Sabha passed the bill on Tuesday.
The bill provides for reservation in education and jobs for locals. A separate Hyderabad-Karnataka development board headed by the governor of Karnataka will also be set up.
The Karnataka government should allocate funds through the budget for the development of the region.
Initiating the debate, Venkaiah Naidu (BJP) asked the Centre to allocate funds for the development of the region.
In his reply, Minister of State for Home Affairs R P N Singh said the region had received Rs 407 crore since 2007-08.
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