Karnataka govt decides to hike minority reservation from 10 to 15% in housing schemes

Bengaluru: The Cabinet on Thursday decided to increase the reservation provided to minorities in housing schemes across the state from 10 to 15%.

The Housing Department has argued that the decision is in line with the 15% reservation provided to minorities by the Union government based on the Sachar Committee Report (2006).

Defending the decision while addressing reporters after the Cabinet meeting, Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister H K Patil said. “The centre has also given directions. Looking at the greater number of minorities without housing facilities, we have increased the reservation share for them. As per the Sachar Committee report, their situation is poor.”

The government has also decided to provide these 15% reservations on a taluk-wise basis and not on a village basis. This is so, since minorities are not evenly concentrated across most districts (in some villages, they are not found in big numbers, while they are concentrated in some other villages of the same taluk).

While Patil explained that reservations would apply to Muslims, Christians, Buddhists, Sikhs, Jains and Parsis, he clarified that there was no internal reservation within this quota.

Reacting to an argument that the decision would be seen as “pro-Muslim” since Muslims are numerically the most dominant of all these communities, Patil said: “Why do you smell political motives in a move that intends to provide housing to houseless people??”

According to a document by the Housing Department, a 10% reservation is provided to minorities in Karnataka in the Basava Rural Housing Scheme, Vajpayee Urban Housing Scheme and D Devaraj Urs Special Housing Scheme since 2017.

As per the document, a Cabinet sub-committee formed when the H D Kumaraswamy-led Congress-JD(S) coalition, had decided on January 8, 2019, to increase the reservation from 10 to 15%, in line with the Centre and the Sachar Committee Report.

The Housing Department had sought the opinions of the Law and Finance Departments. While the Law Department approved the decision, the Finance Department had left the final decision with the Housing Department, with the caveat that providing the quota must not lead to a demand asking higher budgetary allocation, the document reveals.

Both these opinions were given in 2020, when the B S Yediyurappa-led BJP government was in power. However, after the Congress came to power in 2023, Housing, Waqf and Minorities Welfare Minister B Z Zameer Ahmed Khan's approval was sought on June 17, 2023.