Somanna urges Amit Shah to fast-track ST tag for Kadugolla community

Bengaluru: Union Minister of State for Railways and Jal Shakti V. Somanna has urged Union Home and Cooperation Minister Amit Shah to facilitate the inclusion of the Kadugolla community in Karnataka in the Scheduled Tribes (ST) list, saying the proposal has already cleared an important stage of scrutiny.

In a letter submitted to Shah on Thursday, Somanna said the Office of the Registrar General of India (RGI) had examined the proposal and forwarded it to the Ministry of Tribal Affairs following his earlier representation to the Union home minister on March 25.

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The Tumakuru MP said the Kadugolla community was among the most socially, educationally and economically backward communities in Karnataka and that granting it ST status would significantly improve its access to constitutional safeguards and welfare benefits.

“This will be a vital step to provide justice to this community,” Somanna said, urging Shah to direct the Ministry of Tribal Affairs to expedite the proposal.

The demand for ST status has been pending for several years. In 2023, the Union government informed Parliament that the Kadugolla (Adavigolla) and Koli communities were not included in Karnataka’s list of Scheduled Tribes. However, the Karnataka government had recommended the inclusion of Kadugolla (Adavigolla), Hattigola and related synonyms in 2015, followed by a proposal in 2018 to include Gangamatha and its synonyms, including Koli.
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Somanna’s latest representation follows a meeting earlier this year with a delegation led by Sri Krishna Yadavananda Swamiji of Yadavananda Mutt in Chitradurga. The delegation urged him to pursue the matter with the Union government, arguing that ST status would help improve the community’s educational, economic and social prospects and enable its members to access reservation benefits.

The Centre has maintained that proposals for inclusion or modification of Scheduled Tribe lists are processed under the established guidelines notified in 1999 and amended from time to time, making the exercise an ongoing process.