Special drive to be taken up to provide govt. documents for nomadic communities

Taking serious note of the lack of essential identity documents among members of nomadic communities, chairperson of the Karnataka Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes Nomadic Development Corporation Pallavi G. has announced a special drive for them to get access for documents such as Aadhaar, voter identity, and ration cards.

Taking serious note of the lack of essential identity documents among members of nomadic communities, chairperson of the Karnataka Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes Nomadic Development Corporation Pallavi G. has announced a special drive for them to get access to documents such as Aadhaar, voter identity, and ration cards.

“The condition of nomadic communities in the State is deeply concerning,” she said. “During my visits to various settlements, I observed that many lack basic amenities. Worse still, a significant number don’t possess identity documents,” she told presspersons in Kalaburagi on Tuesday, following a review meeting on the implementation of development schemes for nomadic communities in the district.

“The absence of these vital and basic documents prevents them from accessing government welfare schemes. To address this, we will begin a special drive wherein officials will visit these settlements and facilitate the issuance of identity documents on the spot,” she said.

When asked about the population size of SC and ST nomadic communities as per the Socio-Economic and Educational Survey (caste census), Ms. Pallavi declined to comment, citing the unavailability of the report.

“The survey findings haven’t been made public yet, and I am not aware of its contents. According to the 2011 census, the nomadic population stands at around 11 lakh. However, community leaders claim the number is much higher. We will assess and take further action once the official data is released,” she said.

Referring to her visit to a Budga Jangam nomadic community settlement near Kusnoor Road in Kalaburagi, Ms. Pallavi said that she came across a serious complaint of the local fair price shop owner charging ₹100 from each family for disbursing free rice under the Anna Bhagya scheme.

“It is inhuman to exploit poor families by charging money for rice meant to be distributed for free. This incident reflects the dire situation these communities are in,” she said. “I have instructed the concerned officials to file a case against the shop owner and submit an action-taken report at the earliest.”