The distribution of student scholarships to children of construction workers by the Karnataka Building and Other Construction Workers Welfare Board has become a bone of contention with the board cutting the scholarship amount by about 75% in most cases.
While the workers’ union is up in arms against the decision, the State government has insisted that it is in line with the prevailing scholarships given by various government departments. Of the 13 lakh applications received for scholarship for 2022-23, 7 lakh beneficiaries have been identified as eligible that would cost the board roughly ₹200 crore.
The order issued on October 30 has led to the unions announcing a strike from November 28 in Bengaluru. There are about 44 lakh registered cardholders and the board collects about ₹ 1,000 crore annually as cess. The current corpus of the board is about ₹7,000 crore.
