Karnataka seeks 9th Schedule shield to raise quota limit

In Karnataka Legislative Council, Friday was the day of passing the Resolutions. The Council adopted about half a dozen resolutions, including quota hike. The Council has adopted a resolution asking the central government to include the state's 56 per cent reservation decision in the ninth Schedule of the Constitution. The resolution was adopted by the Council in the absence of the opposition members on Friday, as they had earlier staged a walkout dissatisfied with Chief Minister Siddaramaiah's reply to the debate on North Karnataka's development. The resolution urging for the inclusion of the state's notifications and orders, increasing the reservation in employment and education for Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Backward Classes from 50 per cent to 56 per cent in Schedule-9 of the Constitution of India, was moved by Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister H K Patil.

The resolution comes at a time when courts have quashed decisions by various state governments to enhance the reservation quota beyond the 50% ceiling.Tamil Nadu remains the only state to have successfully secured protection for a reservation law exceeding the 50% limit. Its 69% quota is protected under the Tamil Nadu Backward Classes, Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Reservation of Seats in Educational Institutions and of Appointments or Posts in the Services under the State) Act, 1993, which was placed in the Ninth Schedule through the 76th Constitutional Amendment Act, 1994.

The Assembly also passed a resolution urging the Union government to transfer at least 25% of the 73 national-level institutes currently in Bengaluru to the North Karnataka region.The resolution cited overburdened infrastructure in Bengaluru and the need to improve human development indicators in the region. It urged the Centre to identify suitable agencies for Additional resolutions passed include setting up an AIIMS in Raichur, granting national project status to Upper Krishna Project Phase III, raising ethanol blending caps for Karnataka's sugarcane sector, and expediting forest clearances for the Kalasa-Banduri Nala project.relocation.

(State Correspondent)