ST quota must be increased if Kurubas included in ST list: CM Siddaramaiah
Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Tuesday said the Scheduled Tribes reservation quota must be increased if Kurubas are included in the ST list.
Speaking after distributing Valmiki Awards at the Valmiki Jayanti programme held in the Vidhana Soudha here, he also said he would consider the demand for including lessons on Maharshi Valmiki and Ramayana in the school curriculum.
“If Kurubas are included in the ST list, the ST reservation quota must be increased accordingly. I support and agree with that,” the Chief Minister said in his address.
“No one should put their hand into another’s food plate, and no one should snatch away another’s opportunities. That is my commitment.”
The Chief Minister told the gathering that when J H Patel was the Chief Minister, recommendations were made to the Centre to include several communities, including the Bestha community, in the ST list but it has not materialised yet.
Siddaramaiah also assured that former MP V S Ugrappa’s demand to include lessons about Valmiki and the Ramayana in the curriculum would be positively considered.
“Valmiki, who belonged to the Valmiki community that was once deprived of scriptural knowledge, became a great world-renowned sage and composed the magnificent epic Ramayana. Therefore, every member of the community must give top priority to education,” he said.
The CM said it was not wrong to obtain the rights and opportunities your community deserves through organisation and struggle,” he noted.
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Power tariffs under BESCOM to rise from May 1
Bengaluru (PTI): Power bills for consumers under the Bangalore Electricity Supply Company Limited (BESCOM) will go up from May 1, following an order issued by the Karnataka Electricity Regulatory Commission (KERC) on Friday.
The hike comes after KERC allowed the BESCOM to recover a revenue deficit of Rs 2,068 crore incurred in 2024-25, from the consumers.
As a result, for every unit of electricity consumed in 2024-25, the customers will be charged an additional 56 paise, it said.
"BESCOM shall calculate, for each of the active consumers of FY2024-25 the amount to be recovered based on their actual energy consumption during FY2024-25. Such amount shall be recovered during FY 2026-27 in equal monthly instalments, to be called as 'FY25 True up Charges', commencing from the first meter reading date falling on or after 1 May 2026 and concluding with the reading date ending on 30 April 2027," the order said.
"It is further ordered that BESCOM shall maintain a separate head of account, allocated for the purpose, to record the adjustment of the said amount to ensure full recovery of the deficit," it added.
Similarly Chamundeshwari Electricity Supply Corporation Limited (CESC) has also recorded a revenue deficit of Rs 121.71 crore and can collect an additional 15 paisa per unit for consumption in 2024-25, official sources said.
