Bengaluru: In what could be termed as an indirect admission of the failure of the ambitious caste census project in Bengaluru, the state government is likely to conduct a resurvey in all 28 assembly segments of the city.
Social Welfare minister H. Anjaneya disclosed this here on Monday. Speaking to reporters, Mr Anjaneya said, “At present we are compiling data gathered from all over the state. We feel the survey may not have fully succeeded in Bengaluru, where as it has been a great success in rural parts of the state. To ensure accuracy, we will relaunch a survey of castes in Bengaluru once the data compilation process is over.”
According to him, the reasons behind the lack of interest in Bengaluru needs to be decoded with one section blaming the middle classes and educated class for not taking part in the survey and another blaming slum dwellers. “To find the real reason, we will carry out a resurvey in Bengaluru, for this, we will identify a block in each of the 28 assembly segments in the city where we will carry out survey work systematically,” he explained.
Mr Anjaneya also directed vice-chancellors and registrars to admit every Dalit and OBC student eligible for the fee concession scheme announced by the government. “Why should any student be denied admission on the pretext that the state government would delay releasing the fee concession amount to the institution? Our aim is to facilitate easy admission for every student eligible under this scheme,” he retorted in response to a question.
The government will not hesitate to initiate legal action against institutions which fail to comply with its directions. “We have already released '178 crore to all institutions under this scheme for the 2014-15 academic year. No institution can claim that they have to be paid arrears by the government,” he contended.
Responding to a question on the critical comments made by noted writer S. L. Byrappa on the Anna Bhagya scheme, Mr Anjaneya quipped: “Those who have suffered from hunger, will never criticise Anna Bhagya - free distribution of rice to the poor. I will not hesitate to say that whoever opposes or even criticises Anna Bhagya must bee seen as someone heaping insults on the poor.”
