JOIN USGovernment gearing up for caste census after 82 years
The State government will soon convene a meeting of the deputy commissioners (DCs) to work out modalities and preparedness for conducting a ‘caste census’ that would throw up the reality of the socio-economic status of communities in the State and, whether the deprived are getting benefits of reservation.
This will be the first caste-based survey in the State since 1931. While the caste census was first mooted nine years ago, the survey could not move forward for various reasons.
Chief Minister Siddaramaiah had recently announced that the census process would begin soon.
Social Welfare Minister H Anjaneya said the State government’s share for conducting the census will be provided in the budget proposals for 2013-14 to be presented by Siddaramaiah, who also holds the finance portfolio, later this month.
The Centre has already sanctioned Rs 23 crore for the project and it is estimated that another Rs 65 crore is required for conducting the census.
“A meeting of the DCs and experts in the field will be held soon to work out the logistics. We will also decide on the census time-table. A decision will be taken whether teachers or Revenue department personnel should take up the enumeration process,” Anjaneya told Deccan Herald.
Each and every household in the State will be covered during the survey, the minister added.
At the same time, the Karnataka State Backward Classes Commission is working on the methodology for conducting the census.
“We have been in constant touch with the government. Now that the present government has shown interest in taking the census forward, we will finalise the methodology and send it to the government in the next 10 days,” Commission Chairman N Shankarappa said.
Besides the caste and sub-caste, other parameters likely to be gathered during the census include annual income, domestic expenditure, household data, occupation of household members, source of drinking water, lighting facility, immovable assets, among others.
OBC category
There has been a perpetual debate that only a section of the communities have been eating away all the reservation benefits in educational institutions and government employment.
The survey will throw up the reality of the socio-economic status of communities. Once the data from the census is collected, the Commission can decide which communities actually fall under the Other Backward Classes (OBC) category.
“We can recommend reclassification of the reservation quota systems for OBCs based on their socio-educational status. This needs to be done to ensure that the deprived get the maximum benefit of reservation. All aspects will be taken into consideration before the Commission makes its recommendation,” Shankarappa said.
Anjaneya was non-committal whether the state government would accept the J Sadashiva Commission recommendation which had favoured internal reservation among the 101 sub-sects of the SCs in the state.
Of the 15 per cent reservation extended to the SCs, the Commission recommended six per cent reservation for the left wing, five per cent for right wing, one per cent for the other SCs and three per cent for touchables. “We will take a decision after the budget session”, Anjaneya said.
Over a period of time, successive governments and backward classes commissions in the State have recommended inclusion of different communities in the reservation list.
In 1995, during the H D Deve Gowda’s regime, a cabinet sub-committee classified OBCs under category 1, 2A, 2B, 3A and 3B. The government issued an order fixing reservation and it is followed even today.