Chhattisgarh passes bills to hike OBC, SC quotas

Both bills- The Chhattisgarh Public Service (Scheduled Caste, Scheduled Tribes and Other Backward Classes Reservation) Amendment Act and an amendment bill related to admission in educational institutions were tabled in the assembly during a special session on Friday.

The legislature proposes 32 pc reservation for Scheduled Tribes, 13 pc for Scheduled Castes, and 27 pc for Other Backward Classes of the state in line with the population of these two communities.

A provision of 4 pc reservation has also been provided to the Economically Weaker Section (EWS), taking the total extent of reservation in the state to 76 pc.

The Chief Minister urged all parties to make efforts to include the new provisions of reservation in Chhattisgarh in the 9th Schedule.

"It is worth mentioning that today's assembly session was also called a special session. In the Reservation Amendment Bill, 32 per cent of reservation has been given to Scheduled Tribes, 13 per cent to Scheduled Castes and 27 per cent to Other Backward Classes. Similarly, economically weaker sections of the state will get the benefit of a 4 per cent reservation," Chhattisgarh Chief Minister said.

He further said, "Madhya Pradesh Public Service (Reservation for Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Other Backward Classes)1994, was adopted in the state of Chhattisgarh and after a long time of this adaptation, it was only in 2011-12 that the then contemporaneous state government awakened."

Baghel said that during the tenure of the then government, the report of the Sergius Minj Committee was not presented by the then government at all. Sargius Minj Committee had said in its report that reservation in other states is more than 50 per cent and it can be increased in Chhattisgarh, this report was also not submitted to the High Court.

The Chief Minister said that Quantifiable Commission data come out with a figure of 3.48 per cent for the EWS population out of the total state's population, while the governmnet have made a 4 per cent reservation provision for them. Similarly, the population of OBCs is 42.41 per cent of the state's population while we have made a provision of 27 per cent reservation for them.

Bhupesh Baghel said, "In the year 2011 census, the population of Scheduled Castes was slightly more than 12 per cent. We have made a provision for a 13 per cent reservation for them. If the population of SC comes out to be 16 per cent in the upcoming census, then we will give 16 per cent reservation, as the people are demanding. According to the Constitution of India, there is a provision to give reservations to Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes according to their share of the population." (ANI)