Bengaluru (Karnataka) [India]: Following the conclusion of the cabinet meeting, Karnataka Law Minister HK Patil on Monday stated that the cabinet discussed 33 issues, leading to several decisions, including the establishment of special police stations to address caste atrocity cases and the creation of an Agriculture Development Agency.
“Thirty issues were discussed in today’s cabinet meeting, and we have made several decisions. The cabinet approved the establishment of the Agriculture Development Agency,” the minister said.
The cabinet also sanctioned the construction of a Military Central Command Centre at a cost of Rs. 102.80 crore. The centre, which will span 3.16 acres, is to be built within the IG office premises.
Minister for Public Works Development (PWD), HC Mahadevappa, informed in a press conference that the cabinet has approved the establishment of 33 special police stations and the recruitment of 450 personnel to handle emergency cases related to caste atrocities.
“The establishment of these police stations will be overseen by the Social Welfare Department, with a focus on preventing atrocities against Scheduled Castes. This is a first-of-its-kind project in the country. Complaints in atrocity cases should initially be lodged at the local police station, which will then transfer them to the special police stations to expedite FIR filings,” the cabinet minister explained.
The cabinet decided to designate 33 units of the Civil Rights Enforcement Directorate within the Social Welfare Department as special police stations and approved the recruitment of 450 personnel needed to manage these units.
The government has also agreed to implement internal reservation. The cabinet granted approval to provide internal reservation to Scheduled Castes, appointing a commission led by a retired High Court judge to submit its report within three months.
“In 2022, the Sadashiva Commission report was rejected by the BJP. Former Law Minister Madhuswamy made this decision. Now, however, it has been decided to extend internal reservation to the Dalit community. We had pledged to implement internal reservation at our party convention in Chitradurga, and we stand by our commitment. We will proceed with implementation based on empirical data gathered by the commission. The Telangana government has set a similar precedent, and we will move forward after reviewing the commission’s findings,” the minister added.