V. Sunil Kumar | Photo credit: File photo
BJP member V. Sunil Kumar expressed concern over the 177 talukas in the state that are still identified as “backward” despite the state government spending thousands of crores of rupees to remove regional imbalances and demanded that the government issue a white paper on the implementation of the Dr. committee report. Nanjundappa which was submitted in 2002.
Raising the issue during the state budget debate in the Assembly on Monday (March 23), Mr Kumar noted that the current committee, headed by economist Govinda Rao, had pointed out that 177 taluks were backward. “This is a cause for concern as these many taluks have remained backward despite the government spending about ₹20,000 crore as recommended by the Nanjundappa Committee, which had earlier declared 114 taluks as backward. This calls for a wider discussion,” he said.
The Govinda Rao Committee recommended that ₹43,000 crore be allocated to ensure development of backward taluks. However, the state budget presented by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah does not allocate funds in this regard, he pointed out, asking how these backward talukas would see development if no funds were allocated.
A survey of caste
Mr Kumar took exception to the state budget, which made no mention of the latest caste survey report, and questioned Mr Siddaramaiah’s commitment to implement the report as promised, suspecting that it might also be dropped like the previous report.
“Despite the speedy completion of the caste census by October 31, 2025 at a cost of ₹ 500 crore, there is no further indication as to when the report will be ready,” he said.
Taking a jibe at the chief minister, he said, “Mr. Siddaramaiah cannot become the next Devaraj Urs (a former chief minister known as a champion of backward classes) just by surpassing him in terms of longevity.”
Expressing displeasure at the way the government has dealt with the issue of internal reservation among scheduled castes, he noted that the fire of anxiety among these downtrodden communities would burn the government.
Published – 23 March 2026 19:51 IST
