BENGALURU: The State Government on Monday issued an order for the implementation of the internal reservation for the Scheduled Castes by sharing the 17 per cent quota to three groups among 101 castes.
Karnataka will become the second state after Telangana to implement the internal quota following the Supreme Court’s decision on Aug.1, 2024 that the states are empowered to do so based on empirical data.
The government has directed the Department of Personnel and Administrative Reforms (DPAR) to take action to initiate the direct recruitment process for filling up vacancies in various government departments and promotions which were stalled awaiting the decision on internal quota. The upper age limit should be relaxed with a separate notification, it added.
The cabinet had accepted the Justice HN Nagamohan Das commission’s report on Aug.19 by modifying the recommendation of creating five categories-A, B, C, D and E into only three-A, B and C. The A with 16 SC (Left) castes and B with 19 SC (right) castes were allotted 6 per cent each whereas the C including the Bhovi, Lambani, Koracha and Korama, 59 nomadic SC castes give 5 per cent.
Adi Andhra, Adi Karnataka and Adi Dravida communities who had not mentioned their original castes can avail reservation either under Group A (SC left) or Group B (SC right), the order stated.
At the instance of the new data or the information on the castes arrives the amendment to the SC/ST Commission Act 2002 will be amended. The permanent Scheduled Castes commission will be set up to report their status to the government by studying the mobility of the castes and verifying the data from time to time.
A cabinet sub-committee will be appointed to recommend the withdrawal of the cases against the activists who were in the struggle for the internal quota, the order clarified.
Meanwhile, not happy with the revision of the Nagamohan Das Commission’s recommendation, that is to put the 59 nomadic SC castes into category C along with Bhovi, Lambani, Koracha and Korama castes, there is likelihood of their leadership moving the court seeking stay for the implementation of the internal quota. They were alleging that it is against the Supreme Court’s directives as the inter-se backwardness was not taken for account, according to sources.
Give more time to file objections: BJP to BS Panel
BJP has demanded the State Backward Classes Commission give more time for submitting objections to its notification on castes and sub-castes. BJP State General Secretary and former minister V Sunil Kumar said the Commission issued a notification on August 22 and has given seven days for filing objections. He said that it has to be extended by another 10 days. The BJP leader said in the list of 1,400 castes, many Muslim sub-castes were not mentioned. He also said there is much confusion in the list of castes, criteria and issues. Next week, a delegation of BJP leaders will meet the Commission Chairman to explain their apprehensions and also give suggestions, he said.