The Tamil Nadu government has decided to constitute a commission headed by a retired judge to draft guidelines for a ‘social justice survey’ in the state, with the exercise scheduled for next year.
The decision was taken at the state Cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Joseph Vijay on Thursday.
“The TVK government will conduct the Social Justice Survey next year, after the completion of the ongoing census. The specific rules and regulations for the survey would be framed once the commission was constituted. The commission would be constituted by February or March next year,” Energy Resources Minister C T R Nirmal Kumar told reporters after the meeting.
Social Justice Minister Vanni Arasu had earlier said the survey would focus on the Adi Dravidar population in the state. He said the exercise was intended as a detailed socio-economic survey that would provide crucial data on the community’s actual socio-economic conditions and help identify factors hindering its advancement.
Under the survey, caste-wise enumeration and assessment of the social status of different communities are planned.
The Cabinet also decided to file a review petition concerning reservation benefits for Muslims who have converted to Islam, Kumar said.
“The state government would file a review petition against the Supreme Court judgment that quashed a 2024 government order on reservation for converted Muslims. The petition would be filed after the necessary decisions were taken in the coming days,” he said.
In another decision, the Cabinet approved eight companies to establish industries in the state.
Amid mounting criticism over the Theni jailbreak, the minister announced that the government was strengthening prison security by installing additional CCTV cameras and advanced screening equipment, and providing body-worn cameras for wardens.
He said the government was also planning to use artificial intelligence to monitor prison perimeter walls.
Kumar said the government was considering measures to limit interactions between prisoners and visitors to online platforms and was working towards producing inmates before courts through video conferencing. New central prisons were under construction in Coimbatore and Madurai, he added.
