Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Friday said the State government will recommend to the Centre to include Talavara and Parivara tribal communities in the list of the Scheduled Tribes.
This inclusion would allow the communities to avail more benefits under various schemes, he said.
He said this at the inauguration of Valmiki Jayanti celebrations at the Vidhana Soudha here. Mr. Siddaramaiah, Social Welfare Minister H. Anjaneya and several other Congress leaders paid floral tributes to legendary poet Maharshi Valmiki.
Noting that the Supreme Court had fixed the reservation ceiling at 50 per cent, the Chief Minister said on account of legal hurdles, the government was not in a position to give more percentage of reservation to STs. For effective implementation of schemes, a separate secretariat would be established for STs, he said.
The government would release Rs. 3 crore to construct Valmiki bhavans in all districts. A total of 15 Valmiki residential schools would be established for the benefit of the students of the community, he said.
Welfare programmes
Stating that the government has planned several welfare programmes for the benefit of STs, he said about 7,600 borewells would be drilled on lands belonging to ST families. He said a caste census would be completed soon to provide benefits to socially and economically backward families.
The former MLC and Congress leader V.S. Ugrappa has urged the State government to provide 7.5 per cent of quota for STs in the State. At present, reservation for STs is 3 per cent in the State. He demanded release of Rs. 5 crore to the Valmiki Chair established at the Kannada University, Hampi. Union Minister of State for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) K.H. Muniyappa said if the State granted land, the Centre would give funds to set up Ekalavya Residential Schools in all districts.
The Centre had already sanctioned four residential schools for STs in the State, he said.
The Valmini Award was given posthumously to Sri Punyananda Swami, first seer of the Valmiki Peeta. The present seer of the math, Prasannananda, received the award.
