Pramesh S Jain
*Appeal filed in Supreme Court against High Court verdict.
*Responsibility of monitoring the case handed over to DCM Parameshwara, Ministers Muniyappa and Satish Jarkiholi
*Decision to conduct social audit to assess the impact of SCSP/TSP.
*State Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.
*Development Council meeting held under CM’s leadership.
*Letter to be written to Union Government seeking release of Rs.1,937 crore pending grants.
*Instructions to release state share even if central share is not released.
*Ministerial team formed to review grant allocation.
Bengaluru, Nov. 12:
“A letter will be written to the Prime Minister requesting the inclusion of the decision to increase the reservation quota for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in the 9th Schedule of the Constitution.
If a meeting with the Prime Minister is possible, this matter will be discussed,” stated CM D K Shivakumar.
Shivakumar was speaking at a press conference on Thursday after chairing the State Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes Development Council meeting regarding the 2026-27 action plan for SCSP/TSP programmes at the Vikasa Soudha conference hall.
Confident of getting justice in the Supreme Court
“This morning, I held a meeting with Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe MLAs, ministers, and chairpersons of various corporations, followed by the Council meeting.
In the morning meeting, it was noted that the Cabinet had decided to file an appeal in the Supreme Court against the High Court verdict regarding the reservation hike and internal reservation, and our petition has been accepted.
The responsibility of deciding who should argue on behalf of the state in this legal battle and monitoring the case has been given to DCM Parameshwara, Muniyappa, and Satish Jarkiholi. We are confident that we will get justice in the Supreme Court,” he said.
“There is no point in blaming those who were in power earlier on this issue. Decisions have been made on this in a few other states, and Tamil Nadu has 69% reservation.
We are only requesting a 6% extension beyond the 50% reservation limit.
We have already resolved the internal reservation issue, and we have discussed with the leaders of these communities on how to formulate programmes for the welfare of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in the next budget.
I will constitute a Vision Group to decide on what kind of new programmes should be designed for the welfare of this section,” he stated.
Decision to conduct social audit to assess the impact of SCSP/TSP :
“A Cabinet sub-committee has been formed under the leadership of Parameshwara regarding these matters, and preparations are underway to implement the programmes announced in our manifesto.
Our leaders have pointed out that certain schemes are overlapping. It has been decided to get a social audit conducted by reputed institutions to study the impact of the grants provided through SCSP/TSP over all these years,” he informed.
“Through SCSP/TSP, Rs.42,503 crore in the year 2025-26 and Rs.44,631 crore in the current year have been allocated across 451 schemes in 34 departments. Our MLAs and ministers are giving suggestions on new ideas and schemes; in this backdrop, our SC and ST MLAs, including the Social Welfare Minister, under the leadership of DCM Parameshwara, will deliberate for two days, discuss with the Finance Department on whether any changes can be made, and submit a report to us,” he said.
“It is our government’s intention that the Rs. 44,631 crore under the SCSP/TSP scheme should reach the beneficiaries properly, and our government is committed to this. From 2001 to 2025, out of 19,115 vacant backlog posts, 17,793 posts have been filled and 1,574 posts remain pending; we will take steps to fill them,” he said.
“The government has decided to hold a convention of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, and our leaders will discuss and decide where this event should take place.
This is a unity convention; it is our duty to inform the people about what promises we made before the elections and what all we have fulfilled. We will do that,” he said.
“We have instructed the Education Department to give a new look to hostel and school uniforms. It has been decided to implement these from next year.
Let government school children wear good uniforms just like private schools. If that requires a little extra money, let us provide it.
Very soon, I will call a meeting of minority MLAs and ministers for discussions, and similarly, separate discussions will be held with Vokkaliga, Lingayat, and backward class leaders. I will hold these discussions prior to the session,” he stated.
Highlights of the Development Council meeting:
• A letter will be written to the Union Government requesting the release of Rs. 1,937 crore in grants that remain pending without being released for the year 2025-26 under Centrally Sponsored Schemes.
• As the Union Government did not release the grants, it was not possible to release the state’s share. This has caused a setback in the implementation of several schemes.
The Chief Minister instructed Finance Department officials to release the state’s share of grants even if the Union Government does not release its funds.
• In the year 2025-26, a total of Rs. 10,011 crore was allocated under SCSP/TSP for Centrally Sponsored Schemes, comprising a central share of Rs. 3,497 crore and a state share of Rs. 6,514 crore. Out of the central share, only Rs. 1,560 crore was released, while Rs. 1,937 crore has not been released.
• Out of the released central grant, Rs. 1,541 crore has been spent. Under the state share, Rs. 5,628 crore was released, and Rs. 5,611 crore has been spent.
• Grants under the SCSP and TSP schemes are being released in proportion to the exact number of Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe beneficiaries. Officials informed that the number of beneficiaries has been fixed based on the data available with the e-Governance
Department.
• The Chief Minister directed that the allocation of grants to provide benefits to Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe beneficiaries under various general schemes under SCSP/TSP should be based on the actual number of beneficiaries.
• It must be ensured that grants are distributed equally among all communities within the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.
• It must be ensured that complete details, including the photograph of every beneficiary, are available on the website. The benefits of the schemes must reach everyone.
• Photos and videos of the beneficiaries must be documented. Transparency must be brought in through this to ensure that schemes are not misused under any circumstances.
• Grants earmarked under SCSP and TSP must not be used for office expenses under any circumstances.
• In the year 2025-26, Rs. 28,699 crore was released under SCSP, and Rs. 28,630 crore has been spent.
• Under TSP, Rs. 10,962 crore was released, and Rs. 10,926.94 crore has been spent. Overall, Rs. 39,661.99 crore was released and Rs. 39,557.43 crore was spent, achieving 99.74% progress.
• During this period, the Women and Child Welfare Department spent Rs. 7,911 crore, Social Welfare Department Rs. 5,236 crore, Energy Department Rs. 5,231 crore, Revenue Department Rs. 3,954 crore, Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Department Rs. 2,403 crore, Food and Civil Supplies Department Rs. 2,275 crore, Scheduled Tribes Welfare Department Rs. 1,819 crore, School Education Department Rs. 1,202 crore, and Transport Department Rs. 1,814 crore.
Q&A:
When asked whether the Rs.44,631 crore earmarked under the SCP/TSP scheme is being spent, he replied, “This money is being spent across all departments. In one department, Rs. 2,600 crore had remained unspent. This year, it was transferred and spent.
Schemes must be formulated for implementation for the people, and the schemes must reach the people.”
When asked about uniforms not reaching school children and salaries not reaching teachers properly, he said,“The primary education programme is my dream project.
Primary education is the foundation for the education of all children, and I will provide information about our plans regarding this matter in another press conference.”
When asked about allegations that SCP/TSP funds are being diverted to other schemes, he said, “Let those who make allegations do so. We work within the framework of our law.”
