Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai has assured that his government will take steps to include the Halumatha (Kuruba) community in Scheduled Tribes (STs) after considering a study report on the community’s traditional profession and other socio-cultural issues associated with it.
“The study on the traditional profession of Halumatha community and other socio-cultural issues associated with it is in the final stage. Once I receive the study report, I will discuss it with legal experts and make all possible efforts to include the community in the Scheduled Tribes. A proposal was sent to the Union government twice in the past but it was returned for various reasons. Now, we will take extra care while proposing Scheduled Tribes tag for the community,” Mr. Bommai said.
He was speaking after inaugurating the Elu Koti Hostel built by Kaginele Mahasamsthan at Mailara in Huvina Hadagali taluk of Vijayanagar district on Saturday.
Mr. Bommai also assured that he has taken a decision to provide ₹5 crore for the construction of a community hall in Mailara.
“The former Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa intiated many steps to develop Kaginele and Bada, holy places for the Kuruba community. He had also extended considerable financial aid from the government for the purpose. It was the BJP government that had declared a holiday for Valmiki Jayanti. The BJP government has been providing maths with funds in the expectation that such a move will help people in the long run,” Mr. Bommai said.
The Chief Minister also reminded the budgetary allocations made for the shepherd community in the last budget and assured that a programme to give 20 sheep/ goats to each family in the community will be realised shortly.
Niranjananandapuri of Kanaka Gurupeetha, Kaginele, said that the study of the Halumatha community is before the government and demanded that it be taken seriously for the inclusion of the community in Scheduled Tribes.
“The yatra demanding inclusion of Kurubas in Scheduled Tribes has completed two years. The government should take up the issue of inclusion of Kurubas of the State in STs within the next two months,” the seer said.
Ministers Govind Karjol, C.C. Patil, MTB Nagaraj and Byrati Basavaraj, the former Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa, legislators K.S. Eshwarappa, R. Shankar, Nehru Olekar and Arun Kumar Pujar, parliamentarian Y. Devendrappa and other party leaders were present.
