Bengaluru
Industries Minister MB Patil said that a high-level committee will be formed under the leadership of Industries Department Principal Secretary Selvakumar to resolve various problems faced by Dalit businessmen of the state.
The Minister made this announcement in a meeting with the members of the Karnataka Dalit Entrepreneurs Association chaired by former Rajya Sabha member L Hanumantaiah at Khanija Bhavan on Friday.
He said that this committee will listen to the various problems faced by Dalit entrepreneurs and find solutions for them.
According to the rules, the government is bound to allot 24.10 percent industrial plots to Dalit entrepreneurs in the industrial areas of the state. Similarly, another 391 acres of land in various industrial areas is pending allotment to Scheduled Castes and it will be allotted as soon as possible, he said.
The Minister granted a two-year exemption on the request of the entrepreneurs, which was earlier given a one-year exemption for scheme implementation and payment to the beneficiaries allocated in pre-Covid.
The Minister also told the meeting that 25% of the remaining unallocated plots in old industrial areas will be allotted to Scheduled Castes.
In some cases, as the nature of project proposals of Dalit entrepreneurs has changed, less than the prescribed amount of industrial land has been allotted. He has informed that if the investment in such cases is less than Rs 15 crore, such cases will be assigned to the committee headed by the respective district commissioners.
He said that there is a problem in the plots given to the Scheduled in many places including Dabaspet, Hassan, Bidadi and steps have been taken to solve it as soon as possible.
Finally Vice President of Karnataka Dalit Entrepreneurs Association Srinivasan said, the Minister has fulfilled almost all our demands. Thus, he said, my congratulations to the minister.
