Former Devadasis Submit Demands to Karnataka Chief Minister for Rehabilitation

The Vimuktha Devadasi Thayandira Maha Okkuta Karnataka submitted a representation to the Chief Minister on Thursday in Bengaluru, urging the state government to immediately implement the Karnataka Devadasi (Prevention, Prohibition, Relief and Rehabilitation) Act, 2025, and address long-pending demands concerning rehabilitation, social security, housing, education, and economic empowerment.

According to the organisation, women liberated from the Devadasi system and their descendants continue to face significant economic, social, and educational hardships. The group pointed out that although the passage of the 2025 Act was welcome, the state government is yet to bring the legislation into force. Additionally, a special package for Devadasi families announced in the 2024–25 State Budget remains unimplemented.

Among its key welfare demands, the organisation sought an increase in the monthly pension for former Devadasi women from Rs 2,000 to Rs 5,000, along with the removal of the current 45-year age limit. The group also demanded a fresh, scientific re-survey without age restrictions, alleging that the re-survey conducted in 2025 was improper.

On the housing front, the organisation urged the government to release funds to reconstruct homes allotted a decade ago that have since become uninhabitable. It also called for raising the unit cost for rural housing from Rs 1.75 lakh to Rs 5 lakh, and urban housing unit costs from Rs 2 lakh to Rs 7 lakh.

Furthermore, the representation called for the immediate sanction of houses and residential sites for eligible beneficiaries identified during the 2024–25 re-survey.