Hyderabad: Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy on Tuesday tabled in the state Assembly an official report on the ‘comprehensive survey’ on caste conducted by the Congress government.
The survey was carried out for about 50 days, and covered a total of 1.12 crore families across Telangana. Reportedly, 66.39 lakh families in rural areas and 45.15 lakh families in towns were surveyed. The survey however did not include 3.56 lakh families in the state.
Before initiating the caste survey, the Telangana government studied similar exercises conducted in Karnataka and Bihar, and consulted experts and representatives of various communities to ensure accuracy and inclusivity. The data of the survey data will be used for future welfare and employment policies, CM Reddy said.
According to the survey, Scheduled Castes (SCs) constitute 61,84,319 (17.43 per cent) of the population, BCs except Muslim minority make up 1,64,09,179 (46.25 per cent), Schedule Tribes 37,05,929 (10.45 per cent) while Muslim minorities constitute 44,57,012 (12.56 per cent) of the surveyed population.
The government had reportedly spent Rs 125 crore to collect comprehensive details. Highlighting the process undertaken to ensure the credibility of the survey, the chief minister said, “One enumerator surveyed not more than 10 households per day to ensure accuracy. The houses that were surveyed received a verification sticker, and data was recorded using an eight-page questionnaire. After this, 76000 data entry operators processed the collected information over 36 days.”
“We have set a role model for the entire country. Today will go down in history as a Red-letter day when social justice has made a giant leap forward and has now become irreversible and unstoppable. I am grateful for the privilege to set the proceedings into motion to table an official report on the comprehensive survey on caste in Telangana Assembly,” said CM Reddy.
The chief minister also pitched for a detailed caste survey across the country saying, “Caste survey today in Telangana, tomorrow across India.”