Siddaramaiah hits back at BJP, says housing quota in line with Centre's own norms
BENGALURU: Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has said that the Congress government is committed to inclusive development rejecting the politics of hatred and division being pushed by BJP.
Hitting out at BJP that questioned his government's decision to increase quota for minorities in housing schemes, CM Siddaramaiah said that the Cabinet has approved a decision to enhance the earmarking for minority beneficiaries, including Christians, Jains, Muslims, etc, under state-run housing schemes in a calibrated manner, in line with the Union Government's own guidelines.
The CM said that the government's decision does not grant blanket enhancement of quota across the state. 'It only addresses a specific implementation challenge. In many panchayats where the minority population is less than 10%, the mandated 10% earmarking could not be utilised.
'To ensure optimal use of the allocated targets and avoid lapses, we have allowed the gap from such panchayats to be reallocated to those with a higher minority population, subject to a cap of 15%,' he said, terming it as an administrative adjustment within the unreserved category and does not affect SC, ST, or OBC reservations in any manner. The decision is legally sound and has been cleared by the Law Department after thorough review, the CM said.
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