Govt to up housing quota for minorities from 10% to 15%
Bengaluru: The Karnataka govt Thursday resolved to increase reservation in housing schemes for minorities from 10% to 15% in urban and rural Karnataka, a decision which BJP dubbed as one more instance of minority appeasement.
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Law and parliamentary minister HK Patil explained the cabinet decision to increase the housing-scheme quota for minorities and said: "We considered the number of houseless families from the minorities, Sachar Committee report, other studies about the houseless families and also instructions from the Union govt."
The minister said the 15% quota applies to Muslim, Christian and Jain communities. He clarified that there will be no quota for minorities in the schemes meant exclusively for SC/ST communities.
"There was a discussion about the need to increase the housing quota for minorities in the session. The govt has taken this decision keeping social justice in mind. We need not respond to those who do politics in providing houses for poor people," said Patil.
Soon after the cabinet meeting, deputy chief minister DK Shivakumar defended the govt decision saying the houses constructed by the housing department in urban areas are lying vacant, and people from minority communities have expressed willingness to move into these houses.
"In some urban areas, 20% to 30% of the minority communities are poor. Therefore, a proposal has been made to increase their quota. So, we are increasing the housing allocation reservation for them from 10% to 15%," said Shivakumar.
BJP state president BY Vijayendra said reservation on the basis of religion is unconstitutional and that Congress has converted welfare into a marketplace for vote-bank politics. He said this was the second such instance after the state govt passed the Karnataka Transparency in Public Procurement (Amendment) Bill, 2025, to provide a 4% reservation for Muslims in govt civic contracts.
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Union minister Prahlad Joshi alleged the cabinet decision was unconstitutional. "Siddaramaiah and his company decided to provide 4% reservation in contracts, which was an unprecedented move in the country. Now, they have decided to allocate a 15% reservation under housing schemes," said Joshi.
Amit Malviya, in charge of BJP's National Information & Technology Dept, said, "There can be no reservation on the basis of religion — the Constitution is unambiguous on this.
Yet, the Congress govt in Karnataka is hell-bent on pushing religious quotas to appease its vote bank. This isn't governance, it's dangerous social engineering."
He further alleged that the Congress is determined to sow the seeds of division, polarise communities, and rip apart the social fabric of Karnataka — all for short-term political gains.
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Boxes
Agriculture Minister to lobby with Centre on Mango compensation
Law and parliamentary affairs minister HK Patil said the cabinet discussed the issue of mango farmers, particularly in Kolar and Bangalore Rural areas, and authorised agriculture minister N Chaluvarayaswamy and chief secretary Shalini Rajneesh to discuss with the Union agriculture minister to seek compensation for farmers.
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Cabinet at Nandi Hills on July 17
Law and parliamentary affairs minister HK Patil said the cabinet meeting scheduled to be held at Nandi Hills on Thursday was postponed due to pending proposals from a few departments for the region. The ministers from the region also requested the CM to postpone the meeting at Nandi Hills. The govt has decided to hold a cabinet meeting at Nandi Hills on July 17.
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Other decisions
*Rs 16 crore for deploying mobile health units (MHUs) to provide primary healthcare services in remote and inaccessible places across the state
* Five bills to be discussed at next cabinet: Karnataka Crowd Control Managing Crowd at Events and Venue, Mass Gathering Bill 2025, Karnataka Rohith Vemula Bill 2025, Karnataka Misinformation, Fake News Prohibition Bill 2025, and Karnataka Hate Speech and Hate Crime Prevention Bill 2025
* Apsarakonda-Mugali marine wildlife sanctuary declared with total area of nearly 6,000 hectares, including a 6-km stretch of coastline and forest area in Honnavar, Uttara Kannada district
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