New Delhi: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has raised serious concerns over the inclusion of Dalit, Adivasi, and Other Backward Class (OBC) entrepreneurs in India’s public works and infrastructure contracts.
Posting on Facebook, he asked, “Last year, out of Rs 16,500 crore worth of public works contracts, how many contracts were awarded to Dalit, Adivasi, and backward class businesses? Their response was deeply worrying—the government does not maintain any data on this.”
The issue stems from a question Rahul Gandhi raised in the Lok Sabha (Unstarred Question No. 6264), seeking details about the total number and value of public works and infrastructure contracts awarded by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs over the past five years, as well as the number and value of contracts allotted to SC, ST, and OBC-owned enterprises.
The question also asked whether the government had met its target of 4 per cent procurement from SC/ST-owned businesses and whether any plans existed to introduce similar targets for OBC-owned enterprises.
In response, the Union Minister of State for Housing and Urban Affairs, Tokhan Sahu, revealed that while data on the total number and value of public works contracts over the past five years was available, there is “no existing mechanism to track contracts awarded to SC, ST, or OBC-owned enterprises.”
He further noted that this information is not available because such tracking is not mandatory for construction contracts, leaving Gandhi’s questions about social inclusion unanswered.
Rahul Gandhi emphasised that government policy mandates 25 per cent of public procurement should come from MSMEs, including 4 per cent for SC/ST-owned enterprises, but “when it comes to the largest and most profitable contracts—public works—the government says this is ‘not mandatory’. This is not merely an administrative lapse. It is a system deliberately created through Modi government policies that weakens social and economic justice.”
Parliamentary data shows that the number and value of central public works contracts over the last five years have steadily increased, with 8,402 contracts worth Rs 16,587 crore awarded in 2025-26 alone.
(IANS)
