Madiga community delegation holds productive meeting with Committee of Secretaries

A delegation of the Madiga community from three states on Friday met a committee of secretaries to apprise it of their socio-economic conditions and the ”difficulties” faced by them, officials said.

This was the second meeting of the panel headed by the cabinet secretary constituted last month on the directions of the prime minister. The committee is mandated to examine the administrative steps that can be taken to safeguard the interests of scheduled caste communities such as the Madigas and other such groups who have represented that they are not getting their due share of benefits.

A delegation of the Madiga community from Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka met the panel and requested the central government to ensure that benefits of all the welfare and development schemes of the central and state governments should be available equitably to the members of the Madiga and other similarly placed communities, the officials said.

The committee noted the concerns raised by the delegation and informed it that the government regularly monitors matters relating to welfare of various sections of the society, and assured them that the issues raised by them will be examined and necessary follow up measures will be taken. The committee comprises secretaries of the Ministry of Home Affairs, the Department of Personnel and Training, the Ministry of Tribal Affairs, the Department of Legal Affairs in the Law Ministry and the Department of Social Justice and Empowerment.

The government has received representations from state governments, including Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Karnataka for the sub-categorisation of scheduled castes, which include the Madiga community, on the grounds that the benefits of reservation and welfare/developmental schemes are not percolating evenly among them.