The Karnataka Cabinet on Friday, April 11, accepted the report of the Socio-economic and Educational Survey (caste census), which was conducted by the Karnataka State Commission for Backward Classes in 2015. The Cabinet took a unanimous decision to discuss the report – spanning 50 volumes – at a special meeting on April 17.
Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said that some Ministers requested to review the recommendations in the report before the discussion, which is scheduled for April 17. Ministers from the Vokkaliga and Lingayat communities, who have criticised the survey as “unscientific", urged the Chief Minister to take all communities into confidence before approving the report.
However, there was no opposition to submitting the report, said Minister for Backward Classes, Shivaraj Tangadagi.
The Backward Classes Commission submitted its findings to the government in a sealed envelope on February 29, 2024. The report is based on data from the 2015 socio-educational survey, analysed according to 54 indicators. The Indian Institute of Management validated the digitised data and submitted a report confirming that the SES-2015 data is consistent with the 2011 census.
Giving details about the caste census report presented in the cabinet meeting on Friday, Law Minister HK Patil said, "Out of the state's 6.35 crore population, data for 5.98 crore people were included in the caste survey. Approximately 1.35 crore households participated, accounting for 94.17 per cent data coverage."
However, 37 lakh households did not participate in the survey, the Minister stated.
The Backward Classes Commission presented the report to the cabinet and the sealed envelope containing the report was opened by Minister Shivaraj Tangadagi. The Secretary of the Backward Classes Welfare Department, Sanjay Shettennavar, briefed the cabinet on the report, HK Patil said.
In 2014, the Congress government in Karnataka, led by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, ordered a Social and Educational Survey. The government stated that the survey was being conducted to help determine reservations and quotas for the Other Backward Classes (OBC) category in accordance with the 127th Constitutional Amendment Bill. The responsibility of digitising the survey report was entrusted to Bharat Electronics Limited.
Information was collected through Schedule 3 from every household covering social, educational, economic, political representation, and occupational conditions, HK Patil said. Six subject matter experts were appointed to help with the survey and a total of 16 expert meetings were held to finalise the methodology and indicators.
The total cost of the 2015 socio-educational survey was Rs 192.79 crore, with Rs 7 crore funded by the Union government and Rs 185.79 crore by the state government. So far, Rs 165.51 crore has been spent on the survey, the Law Minister said.
With inputs from IANS