BANGALORE: The Karnataka Rajya Dalitha Sangharsha Samithi has urged Deputy Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa, who is set to present his second budget on March 16, to earmark at least 23 per cent of the budgetary funds for the welfare of Dalits, who constitute 23 per cent of the population of the State.

Samithi's State convenor Lakshminarayana Nagawara told presspersons here on Tuesday that at present the State had earmarked only 12 per cent of funds for the Dalits' welfare.

He appealed to the Government to hold consultations with the intellectuals from the Dalit communities besides representatives of its organisations to decide the programmes that had to be taken up on priority in the budget.

The meeting should discuss the possibilities of emulating the experiences of Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra, which had been earmarking adequate funds for the welfare of Dalits in their budgets, he said.

Welcoming the Government's move to waive the co-operative loans of farmers, he urged the Government to waive the loans of poor Dalits who had availed them from the Dr. Ambedkar Development Corporation.

The total outstanding of Dalits was only around Rs. 5 crore, he said.

Charging the Government with failure to properly implement the Civil Rights Protection Act and the Prevention of Atrocities against Dalits' Act, he demanded that a separate committee to monitor such issues including that of bringing the guilty to the book.

Mr. Nagawara demanded that the deputy commissioners and superintendents of police in the districts concerned should be made responsible for atrocities against Dalits in their districts.

The Chief Secretary should be authorised to take action against these officials if they failed to prevent atrocities against Dalits.

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