BANGALORE: The Congress in Karnataka is wooing the people of backward Hyderabad-Karnataka region by extending them regional reservation ahead of the 2014 LokSabha poll.
While 75% of posts belonging to Group A and Group B of the state civil service in the Hyderabad-Karnataka region will be earmarked for the local people, as much as 80% of posts of Group C and 85% of posts in Group D will be earmarked for the local population. There will be proportional reservation in promotions too.
Similarly, 70% of the seats available in every course of study in educational institutions or non-state universities in the region will be reserved for the local populace. Eight per cent of the seats in the state pool in districts outside the Hyderabad-Karnataka zone will be reserved for people from the region.
The quota was fixed by a six-member cabinet sub-committee headed by rural development and panchayat raj minister H K Patil, which was constituted to frame rules for the implementation of Article 371(J) in the Hyderabad-Karnataka region, which comprises Gulbarga, Yadgir, Raichur, Bidar, Koppal and Bellary districts.
The state cabinet recently accepted all the recommendations of the sub-committee for extending benefits for the region. In all, the sub-committee had made 22 recommendations, including providing special grants for educational institutions in the region, incentives for growth of industrial investment, sub-plan for welfare of the Scheduled Castes and Tribes and special programmes for the welfare of women, among others.
Chief minister Siddaramaiah said steps would be taken to constitute the Hyderabad-Karnataka Area Development Board. The board, which will have constitutional status, will identify disparities in development in different sectors in the Hyderabad-Karnataka region and suggest the quantum of grants required to bring the region on a par with the rest of the state.
The state government will soon announce a special industrial investment policy and an infrastructure policy for the development of the region, Siddaramaiah said.
