Congress has promised the Mahatma Jyotiba Phule BC sub-plan with statutory status apart from spending ₹ 1 lakh crors in 5 years for BC welfare and creating a Most Backward Classes (MBC) Welfare department, including corporations for all the BC castes for their overall development.
The Backward Classes (BC) Declaration of the Telangana Congress released at Kamareddy also promised to increase the BC reservations in local bodies to 42% from the present 23% within six months of assuming power. The party also promised 42% reservation for BCs in government civil construction and maintenance contracts.
Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah announced the BC declaration in Kamareddy in the presence of TPCC president A. Revanth Reddy, AICC incharge Manikrao Thakare and senior leaders of the party.
The declaration said Professor Jayashankar BC Aikyatha Bhavans would be constructed in all district headquarters with ₹ 50 crore and the District BC Welfare Office would be situated in these Bhavans. BC youth can avail interest-free and collateral-free loans up to ₹10 lakh to establish small businesses and attain higher education.
One new Gurukulam in every mandal would be started for BCs on a par with Navodaya Vidyalayas and one new degree college in each district. Full fee reimbursement would be given irrespective of rank for BC students from families with an annual income below ₹3 lakh.
A shopping complex with 50 shops in each mandal as “Vruthi Bazaars” to provide free shop space for artisanal communities such as barbers, carpenters, washermen, blacksmiths, and goldsmiths are part of the Declaration.
Congress also promised “a reduction in the old-age pension eligibility age for all communities engaged in artisanal occupations from the present 57 to 50 years”. At present, the eligibility age is 50 for only toddy tappers and weavers.
The Mudiraj Community and other related castes ‘Mutrasi and Tenugollu’ would be shifted from BC-D to BC-A in the reservation category restoring a Goverment Order (GO) issued by late Chief Minister Y.S. Rajashekara Reddy. The Mudiraj community accounts for 11% of the population. The Telangana Fisheries Development Board would also be established.
For the Yadava and Kuruma communities, the declaration said the second phase of the Sheep distribution scheme would be done within 100 days of assuming power. The Goud community would get 5 acres of land in each village for the planting of palm trees with 90% subsidy for saplings and drip irrigation. Reservations for Gouds in the liquor shop licences would be increased from 15% to 25%. Similar sops were announced for the Munnuru Kapu, Padmashali, Viswakarma and Rajaka communities.
