Report to be submitted by the end of October; 1.65 lakh enumerators to carry out survey

Bengaluru: Government of Karnataka will conduct a fresh caste survey from Sept. 22 to Oct. 7 for which the final report will be submitted by the end of the October, announced Chief Minister Siddaramaiah here yesterday.

An official notification regarding the caste survey is expected to be issued by the Department of Backward Classes Welfare today and the Backward Classes Welfare Commission is likely to also announce the modalities and methodologies for the caste survey. The decision to conduct a fresh survey was taken after a detailed discussion at the Chief Minister’s ‘Cauvery’ residence.

Scientific and Transparent Survey: CM Siddaramaiah, during the meeting, instructed the concerned Ministry and Department to ensure the survey was conducted in a scientific and transparent manner to ensure there were no drawbacks and complaints. “The State Govt. will be conducting a comprehensive survey covering the entire seven crore population from Sept. 22 to Oct. 7 which will be model for the entire country,” he said.

He also instructed the officials concerned to ensure no caste or community were left out of the survey. Unlike the previous Kantharaj Commission survey, which used 54 questions and was conducted manually, the State Government has decided to use mobile applications in the new survey and to also include additional components. The Government will also form a Committee to oversee the survey operations and to also study the methodology of the similar survey being conducted by Telangana Government.

1.65 lakh enumerators: The State Government will be appointing 1.65 lakh enumerators to conduct the caste survey. With requirement of additional human resource, it has been decided to utilise the services of the staff belonging to other departments apart from the teachers. The CM also instructed that the Departments should work in co-ordination to ensure the survey was conducted successfully.

It may be noted that the previous survey conducted by Kantharaj Commission and Jayaprakash Hegde Commission has attracted backlash from not only from Opposition parties — BJP & JD(S) — but also from various communities including Veerashaiva & Vokkaliga and Seers of various Mutts.