K'taka begins SC census for internal reservation; CM Siddaramaiah urges community to participate

Bengaluru, May 5 (IANS) The Congress-led government on Monday commenced the census of Scheduled Caste (SC) groups across Karnataka to facilitate internal reservations as per the directives of the Supreme Court.

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah stated, “As announced in our election manifesto, we are committed to implementing internal reservation. In this direction, we have taken a significant step starting today.”

He was addressing a press conference at the Conference Hall of the Vidhana Soudha regarding the 'Comprehensive Survey of Scheduled Castes – 2025.'

“The process of conducting a census of the Scheduled Caste (SC) community has begun. The government has appointed the retired Justice H.N. Nagamohan Das Commission for the purpose and fixed the responsibility of providing specific reports regarding their population to facilitate internal reservation,” he said.

The census which began on Monday will be conducted in three phases.

In the first phase, the door-to-door census which commenced on Monday will be conducted till May 17.

In the second phase there will be special camps organised between May 19 and May 21.

In the third phase, opportunity would be given to people to provide details online from May 19 to May 23, CM Siddaramaiah stated.

“As per Article 341 as many as 101 castes are identified as belonging to the SC category. The list includes Korama, Koracha and others. There was no empirical data available in this regard with the government.

"The Justice Sadashiva Commission had earlier given the report based on the data of the 2011 census. However, the Supreme Court later stated on August 1, 2024 that there was a need for internal reservation and granted power to the states in this regard,” CM Siddaramaiah said.

“The Justice Nagamohan Das Commission had given an interim report regarding the internal reservation and stated that empirical data is required mandatorily.

"We must clearly know how many people belong to the Adi Dravida, Adi Karnataka, and Adi Andhra communities. It is important to scientifically determine the numbers in Left-Hand and Right-Hand subgroups.

"When providing internal reservation within the 101 Scheduled Castes, specific statistical data is essential. Recommendations will be made after accurate data is collected," CM Siddaramaiah announced.

"A total of 60 days have been allotted for the survey. Participation via a mobile App has also been enabled. The App will be active from 6.30 a.m. to 6.30 p.m. All members of Scheduled Caste communities are expected to take part in it without fail," CM Siddaramaiah appealed.

"We had announced the implementation of this report in our election manifesto. Even the Supreme Court has supported internal reservation. We had also assured community organisations and leaders that we would implement internal reservation. Therefore, I appeal to all members of the Scheduled Caste communities to actively participate in the data collection survey and provide information," said CM Siddaramaiah.

He also urged all organisations to cooperate with the process.

The Karnataka government has appointed 65,000 teachers to conduct the census at a cost of about Rs 100 crore. The government has provided terms and reference to the Justice Nagamohan Das Commission in this regard. There will be a supervisor for every 10 to 12 personnel.

--IANS

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