50 castes in Telangana to be recognised as Nomadic communities: Telangana BC Commission

Hyderabad: For the socio-economic upliftment of marginalised communities, the Telangana State Commission for Backward Classes has officially approved a recommendations report recognising 50 castes in the state as Nomadic communities.

The decision was finalised during a high-level meeting held on Wednesday at the Commission’s office in Khairatabad by chairman G Niranjan, commission members R Jayaprakash, Tirumalagiri Surender, Rangu Balalakshmi and commission member secretary B Bala Maya Devi.

Unlocking Central benefits: The SEED Scheme

A primary focus of the meeting was streamlining the issuance of De-Notified Tribes (DNT) certificates.

These certificates are essential for eligible beneficiaries to access the Government of India’s SEED (Scheme for Economic Empowerment of DNTs).

To ensure that these communities can access central welfare without bureaucratic hurdles, the Commission approved:

- A formal recommendations report recognising 50 specific castes as Nomadic.

- Proposed changes and additions to the certificate issuance format to better reflect the status of these tribes.

Assessing BC representation in government jobs

In addition to the nomadic community reforms, the Commission is moving forward with a comprehensive data-mapping exercise to evaluate the representation of Backward Classes in the public sector.

The Commission confirmed it has received data regarding Regular, Outsourcing and Contract employees from almost all state departments, with the exception of the Finance Department. This data will be used to create a definitive assessment of the status of Backward Classes within the state’s employment sector.

Details of pending employment data

The BC Commission is currently conducting a state-level analysis to assess the status of Backward Classes in the employment sector. According to the Commission’s records:

- Reporting Status: Out of 343 Heads of Departments (HoDs), 333 departments have submitted their employee caste data (including Regular, Outsourcing and Contract staff).

- The Gap (Finance Department): The Finance Department is the primary source of the delay. Specifically, data from eight sub-departments under the Finance Department is still pending.

- The Impact: Because the Finance Department handles the payroll and service records for a significant portion of the state’s workforce, their data is essential for a ‘comprehensive’ assessment.

- Municipal Administration: In previous updates, the Municipal Administration department also had two pending units, but the Commission’s latest focus remains on the Finance Department to complete the report.