National commission for SCs criticises Orissa Govt

Coming down heavily on the Orissa government, the National Commission for Scheduled Castes today accused it of having a "callous" attitude towards the development of Scheduled Castes in the state.

Coming down heavily on the Orissa government, the National Commission for Scheduled Castes today accused it of having a "callous" attitude towards the development of Scheduled Castes in the state.

HT Image

"The Orissa government is least bothered about welfare of SCs. It has a callous attitude to the rising atrocities on SCs," Commission chairperson Buta Singh told reporters here.

Stating that the Orissa government did not follow Central norms in giving justice to the SCs, Singh said the state had only 15 per cent reservation for SC candidates while their population ratio was 16.53 per cent.

"The ratio of reservation should be based on the percentage of the total population," he said adding that a state like Punjab had reserved about 30 per cent of seats for SC candidates according to the population ratio.

Criticising the state administration for not complying with the Commission's queries, Singh said "we have been seeking information on certain matters for two years. It has not been complied by the state government."

Though the state government gave its reply a day before the Commission began its visit to Orissa on October 5, it was "incomplete" and sans "required" information, he said.