HYDERABAD: The state government is set to introduce the Panchayat Raj (Amendment) Bill, 2025 in the Legislative Assembly in the monsoon session scheduled to commence from Saturday. The bill will pave the way for implementing reservations beyond the existing 50% cap.
This bill is part of the government’s efforts to implement 42% reservations for Backward Classes (BCs) in rural local bodies. An ordinance on the issue continues to await Presidential assent.
According to sources, the election notification for the Deputy Speaker’s post is also expected to be issued on Saturday or during this session. The ruling party has declared Government Whip Jatoth Ram Chander Naik as its nominee.
The Assembly will also take up the Justice PC Ghose Commission of Inquiry report on alleged irregularities in the planning, design, construction, quality control, operation and maintenance of the Medigadda, Annaram and Sundilla barrages of the Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Scheme.
The session will begin with condolence motions before being adjourned for a meeting of the Business Advisory Committee and a Cabinet meeting scheduled within the Assembly premises, sources said.
The government had earlier issued an ordinance after the Telangana High Court, in June, directed the state to complete the reservation process within 30 days and hold local body elections by September 30. Governor Jishnu Dev Verma forwarded the ordinance to the President for her consideration.
The amendment bill now before the House seeks changes to Section 285A of the Telangana Panchayat Raj Act, 2018, which currently maintains the 50% ceiling on vertical reservations for Scheduled Castes (SCs), Scheduled Tribes (STs) and BCs in local self-governments.
The proposed change would allow the cap to be exceeded under exceptional circumstances, supported by empirical data on demographic and socioeconomic conditions, political backwardness and inadequate representation.
The government says this amendment is backed by findings from its caste survey, which it cites as grounds for extending BC reservations to 42%.
The state government was expected to issue a GO to implement the revised quota, if approved by the Governor.
A study in contrast
The Governor approved the amendment to Panchayat Raj Act in March 2025, allowing renaming of certain villages and altering survey numbers. In contrast, the Telangana BC (Reservation of Seats in Rural and Urban Local Bodies) Bill, 2025 and the Telangana BC, SC and ST (Reservation of Seats in Educational Institutions and of Appointments or Posts in the Services under the State) Bill, 2025 await Presidential nod.