HYDERABAD: Telangana is set to implement the Scheduled Caste (SC) sub-categorisation starting April 14, coinciding with Ambedkar Jayanti. The state government is expected to issue a Government Order (GO) to officially implement the policy.
It may be recalled that the Legislative Assembly passed the Scheduled Castes (Rationalisation of Reservation) Bill, 2025, aimed at enabling sub-categorisation within SC reservations. With Governor Jishnu Dev Varma recently giving his assent to the Bill, the government is now going ahead with its implementation.
On Sunday, the Cabinet sub-committee on SC sub-categorisation, headed by Irrigation Minister N Uttam Kumar Reddy, met at the Secretariat to finalise the modalities for the GO. The meeting was attended by ministers including C Damodar Rajanarasimha, D Seethakka, Ponnam Prabhakar and member of the one-man commission Justice Shameem Akhtar.
Following the meeting, Uttam announced that the first copy of the GO would be submitted to Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy.
The sub-categorisation move fulfils a long-pending demand of the most vulnerable communities among the SCs. The movement began in 1994 in the erstwhile Andhra Pradesh, spearheaded by Madiga Reservation Porata Samithi (MRPS) president Manda Krishna Madiga.
In 1996, the then Telugu Desam Party (TDP) government appointed the Justice P Ramachandra Raju Commission to examine the issue. The commission recommended dividing SCs into four groups and apportioning reservations accordingly. Based on the recommendations, the state promulgated the Andhra Pradesh Scheduled Castes (Rationalisation of Reservations) Ordinance, 1999, which was later enacted into law in 2002. However, the Act was struck down by the high court and the decision was upheld by the Supreme Court in 2004.
However, on August 8, 2024, the Supreme Court ruled that states have the authority to sub- classify reserved category groups — including SCs and STs — based on their degree of backwardness for reservation benefits. Following the judgment, the state government appointed a one-man commission led by Justice Akhtar to study the socioeconomic conditions of SC communities. The current legislation is based on the recommendations made by the commission.
Quota split
Group 1: Allocated 1% reservation
Group 2: Allocated 9% reservation
Group 3: Allocated 5% reservation
Total: 15%.
Of 59 sub-castes,
Group 1 comprises 15 castes, making up 3.2% of the SC population
Group 2 comprises 18 castes, accounting for 62.74%
Group 3 includes 26 castes, forming 33.96%