Uttam seeks President's intervention for the increase in ST quota in Telangana

Hyderabad/New Delhi: Congress MP & former TPCC President Capt. N. Uttam Kumar Reddy on Tuesday sought the intervention of President of India Draupadi Murmu for enhancing the reservation for STs from 6 % to 10 % in Telangana.

On the occasion of World Tribal Day on Tuesday, Uttam Kumar Reddy participated in the national seminar on Tribal issues, organised by All India Banjara organisations in the Constitution Club, New Delhi. Later, accompanied by former MLC S. Ramulu Naik and other leaders, Uttam Kumar Reddy submitted a memorandum to President Draupadi Murmu on important issues concerning Scheduled Tribes in Telangana.

"On behalf of the 40 lakh tribal population of Telangana state (comprising of Lambada, Gond, Koya, Erukala and other tribal communities) we humbly represent for your kind intervention for enhancing the reservations for STs in Telangana from 6% to 10%," Uttam Kumar Reddy urged the President.

He pointed out that in combined Andhra Pradesh, the representation for Scheduled Tribes was 6% (as per their percentage of the total population) in government jobs and educational institutions. When the then Andhra Pradesh state was divided into Andhra Pradesh and Telangana in 2014 the population of Scheduled Tribes in Telangana state was 10%.

"The reservations for STs in the separate state of Telangana should have been immediately enhanced to 10% in 2014. From 2014 till now, both state and central governments have been assuring that the reservations for STs in Telangana would be enhanced upwards in the education and employment sectors from 6% to their percentage of the total population. In a very strange situation, the TRS government in Telangana says that they have sent the proposal to the central government and the BJP government in the Centre says in Parliament they have not received any proposal. We request your kind intervention in enhancing the reservations for tribals in Telangana from the present 6% to 10% immediately. This is the constitutional right of tribals in Telangana and they are looking up to you in achieving their rightful reservations. The supreme court laid down the 50% ceiling may not apply because the 10% EBC quota is now being implemented in the whole country over and above the 50% ceiling," Uttam Kumar Reddy said in his representation.

The Congress MP sought the intervention of the President of India in resolving the Podu lands issues. "Lakhs of tribals in Telangana have been cultivating land in cleared forest areas for many decades. They have been given rights by earlier governments. Now under various pretexts, the state government in Telangana is using brutal police force to evict tribals from "Podu Bhoomulu" which they have been cultivating for many decades. We request for your kind intervention in helping the tribals of Telangana in the "Podu Bhoomulu" issue," he demanded.

Uttam Kumar Reddy informed the President that a few thousand Lambada Thandas and Tribal hamlets were converted into new gram panchayats by the TRS Government in Telangana. However, nil or negligible infrastructure in respect of gram panchayat buildings, Anganwadi buildings, internal roads/drains etc has been created for their new gram panchayats. These new gram panchayats (earlier Lambada Thandas and tribal hamlets) have no revenue sources and no new funds have been released for them by the state or central Governments. Therefore, the Congress MP requested the President to use her good offices to sanction funds by Central and State Governments for the creation of good infrastructure in these newly created gram panchayats.

The Congress MP said that due to the present privatisation policy, the Central and State Governments have been selling off public sector corporations. Consequently, he feared that the SCs and STs would lose job opportunities as there is no reservation in the private sector. Therefore, he requested the intervention of the President in the continuation of reservations for SCs and STs even after the privatisation of public sector corporations.