Bengaluru: The Karnataka Cabinet on Tuesday announced that 78 acres of prime land near Bengaluru will be given to backward castes from different communities for various social welfare projects.
The grant comes as a surprise as the state government had been sitting on the petitions made by the associations for the last four years.
Law Minister T B Jayachandra said that 39 communities will benefit from the land grant and each community will get between one and five acres. Land has been identified at Dasanapura, in the suburbs of Bengaluru just off a national highway, and the grant process will begin soon, he said.
"These petitions have been there for last three to four years. These were for the welfare of their communities - to build educational institutions, etc. We have found a way out to grant at least one acre to all. About 39 communities will be covered,” Jayachandra said.
While the petitions have been pending for so many years, the government has got down to it with just six months to go for the assembly election. Critics see this as yet another attempt by the Siddaramaiah government to woo various caste-based groups.
When asked if these communities ever got land grants before, he said, “No. There were just representations. It is purely for the backward ones only."
Among the groups that stand to benefit are the Veerashaiva Mahasabha, the Kuruba (the community of the CM) Sangha, Dalit Sangharsh Samiti, Muslim Orphanage, Padmashali Sangha, Kaginele mutt, Uppara Sangha and the Vishwakarma Sangha.
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