Home Minister P. Chidambaram has reportedly assured an all-party delegation from Karnataka, led by Chief Minister D.V. Sadananda Gowda, that the draft proposal to provide special status to the six backward districts of Hyderabad Karnataka region, by amending Article 371-D of the Constitution, has been sent to the Prime Minister's Office, and once it is approved by the Cabinet committee, it will be tabled in the Parliament.
Mr. Gowda, stating this to mediapersons after meeting the Home Minister, added that Mr. Chidambaram had assured full support to the State on the issue.
The districts to benefit under this are Bidar, Gulbarga, Yadgir, Koppal, Raichur and Bellary. The delegation told the Home Minister that the issue had been pending for the last 11 years and the Karnataka government had given eight memoranda and written several letters on the subject to the Prime Minister and various Ministers in the Central government. The Centre should introduce the Bill to amend the Constitution to enable the State government to get social justice and allow it to provide regional reservation in employment and education on the pattern prevailing in Andhra Pradesh (Telangana).
Also on drought
The delegation, which also included Leader of the Opposition in the Legislative Assembly M. Siddaramaiah and in the Leader of the Opposition in the Legislative Council Mottamma, besides representatives of the Janata Dal (Secular), also sought the Home Minister's intervention and Central funds to undertake relief measures in the drought-hit areas.
The delegation also called on Commerce Minister Anand Sharma, Railway Minister Mukul Roy, Urban Development Minister Kamal Nath and Water Resources Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal.
Later, Mr. Gowda met noted lawyer Fali Nariman and discussed the cases relating to the Cauvery and Krishna river water issues pending in the Supreme Court.
Increasing customs duty on the import of silk to protect the sericulture industry and silk reelers in Karnataka, announcing a separate sericulture policy, pending railway projects, the Namma Metro project, and water disputes of Karnataka with Andhra Pradesh (Krishna river), Tamil Nadu (Cauvery) and Maharashtra (Koyna dam) were some of the subjects discussed by the all-party delegation with the Ministers.
