JOIN USLeaders from SC/ST communities poured out their woes before the Karnataka State Schedule Castes and Schedule Tribes Commission Chairman K Basanna Chalavadi here on Monday.
Their woes were with regard to encroachment of Depressed Class (DC) manna land, collecting exorbitant fee and donations from SC/ST students in aided and government colleges, delay in construction of Ambedkar Bhavan, lack of space in government hostels, misuse of fake caste certificates, misuse of funds meant for the welfare of SC /ST community members in urban local bodies.
At the public grievances meeting chaired by the Commission Chairman, Marati community leader M A Naik, Dalit leaders Raghuveer, S P Anand and others said that the government colleges and aided colleges collect tuition fee for the entire year from students in advance.
The private colleges before getting approval from the government promise to reserve seats for the SC/ST students. However, they fail to fulfill the promises made to the government. The collection of extra fee in the form of donation is affecting the students from poor background. The Commission should consider the issue seriously. The Chairman said that the land handed over to the SC/ST beneficiaries by the government should not be sold.
The officials should lay special emphasis on the welfare of nomads in the district. Leader Girish Kumar said that funds earmarked for the welfare of SC/ST in urban local bodies are being misused by the authorities. In the name of SC/ST, the funds are used for laying roads in non SC colonies where two to three SC/ST people reside. Gopalakrishna said that the State government gives prominence to construct concrete roads on SC/ST colonies.
At the same time, the government should also lay emphasis to provide basic facilities to the families. Shekar said that the chargesheet filed against Vittal Malekudiya as Maoist sympathiser should be withdrawn. About 43 Malekudiya families reside in Banjarumale, one of the remote hamlet in Belthangady. The residents have to pass through a road which belongs to a private individual. The owners close the gate of the road, causing inconvenience to the residents.
S P Anand said that the quarters of MCC civic workers at Mahakalipadpu is in deplorable condition. There is a need to provide an alternative residential facilities to the civic workers. Nine acre land has been earmarked for the civic workers in Vamanjoor.
The Commission should direct the MCC to distribute the land among the beneficiaries. Kudmal Ranga Rao hostel has been catering to the needs of the students. However, owing to lack of space, the applications are turned down by the officials. This year, 91 students had applied for a seat in the hostel, of which 31 students could not avail the seat.
Promises action
On exorbitant fee collected by the private educational institutes from the students hailing from SC/ST communities, the Commission Chairperson said that the issue will be brought to the notice of the education minister.
“It is a tragedy that the colleges are engaged in collecting donation from the students. We will act against such institutes.” The Commission Chairperson said that the issue of delay in construction of Ambedkar Bhavan will be brought to the notice of the State government.
“After I took charge, the Commission has received 2036 complaints, of which 61 applications have been cleared,”he added.