Hyderabad: The Telangana Assembly will meet on Tuesday to debate the report on the caste survey conducted in the state.
The state cabinet will meet on Tuesday morning to deliberate on the report before presenting it to the Assembly for discussion, official sources said on Monday. The secretary to the state legislature said in a letter that the Assembly Speaker has convened a meeting of the Assembly on February 4.
The state planning department, which conducted the survey, submitted its report to the cabinet sub-committee headed by Civil Supplies Minister N Uttam Kumar Reddy on Sunday.
According to the caste survey, Backward Classes (BCs), excluding Muslim minorities, form the largest group, constituting 46.25 per cent of Telangana’s total 3.70 crore population.
The BC population is followed by Scheduled Castes (SCs) at 17.43 per cent, Scheduled Tribes (STs) at 10.45 per cent, backward classes among Muslims at 10.08 per cent, Other Castes (OCs) at 13.31 per cent, and OCs among Muslims at 2.48 per cent.
In terms of absolute numbers, the SC population stands at 61,84,319, STs at 37,05,929, BCs (excluding Muslim minorities) at 1,64,09,179, BCs among Muslim minorities at 35,76,588, and Muslim OCs at 8,80,424.
The total Muslim population in the state is 12.56 per cent, Uttam Kumar Reddy said on Sunday.
The total number of households in the state is 1,15,78,457, while 1,12,15,134 households were surveyed. Telangana provides reservations to backward Muslims under the BC category.
The survey aims to facilitate data-driven welfare policies and create opportunities in social, economic, educational, and political fields for the poorest of the poor, the weakest of the weak, and marginalised sections of society in Telangana, Uttam Kumar Reddy stated.
The Congress government’s comprehensive socio-economic, employment, political, and caste survey—an election promise made by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi—was conducted over 50 days, starting on November 6, 2024.
State BC Commission Chairman G Niranjan told PTI that the caste survey data would help the government in finalising reservations (in local body polls) as per population.
The data would also help the BC commission to determine the category of a particular backward caste (among A, B, C, and D groups) for the purpose of availing reservations, besides helping the government in the implementation of schemes, he said.
The government is expected to spell out its future course of action on the caste survey in the assembly, he said.
Meanwhile, BRS MLC K Kavitha demanded that the Congress government provide reservations to the 56.3 per cent of BCs, including the backward sections among Muslims, as per the data declared by the government.
“The government has declared that there are 46.3 per cent plus 10.2 per cent of Muslim OBCs—making a total of 56.3 per cent. We are demanding that the Congress government, before the local body elections, grant reservations to this 56.3 per cent based on the data they have provided,” she told PTI Videos.
She also claimed that there are doubts about the enumeration process and “the numbers Congress government has given”.
State Backward Classes Welfare Minister Ponnam Prabhakar said there is no need for much concern over the 3.1 per cent of people left out of the survey due to reasons such as migration and refusal to participate.
In a veiled critique of the previous BRS government, he said the exercise has no hidden agenda.
Unlike in the past, there will be no secrecy around the exercise, he said.
The government is open to suggestions, Prabhakar added.
(Except for the headline, this article has not been edited by FPJ’s editorial team and is auto-generated from an agency feed.)
