
HYDERABAD: The state government is set to allocate 42% of the seats in local bodies, education and employment for Backward Classes, and also enhance reservations for SCs and STs, taking the total reservations for various sections to around 66-67%. A bill to this effect is likely to be tabled in the Telangana Legislative Assembly and Council during the daylong special session scheduled for Tuesday.
A highly placed source confided to TNIE that the state government has proposed to increase reservations for BCs to 42% in education and employment from the existing 25% (excluding 4% for backward Muslims), and 42% reservations in local bodies from 23%.
In the elections to local bodies held in 2018, the government at the time reduced the BC quota in local bodies from 34% to 23% to keep the total reservations below the 50% threshold mandated by the Supreme Court of India.
The source pointed out that the recently conducted caste survey put the SC population in the state at 17.43%. If sources are to be believed, the Congress government has drafted the Telangana Backward Classes, Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Reservation of Seats in Educational Institutions and Appointments or Posts in the Services Under the State and Seats in Local Bodies) Bill.
The source revealed that the bill will propose to increase reservations for SCs to 17% from the existing 10%.
Similarly, the bill will propose enhancing reservations for Scheduled Tribes by 1%. Presently, ST communities benefit from 6% reservations.
Sources said that though the survey revealed that the BC population in Telangana is 46.25%, the state government has decided to provide 42% reservation in line with the promise made by the Congress during the 2023 Assembly elections in the form of the “Kamareddy Declaration”.
With the state government’s decision to increase reservations for BCs, SCs, and STs, the total reservations would be around 66-67%, far beyond the Supreme Court ceiling of 50%.
Once the state Legislature passes the bill, it will be sent for the assent of the President of India, with a request to include it in the Ninth Schedule of the Constitution as was done in the case of Tamil Nadu.
It may be recalled here that the state Legislature passed a bill in April 2017 seeking to increase reservations for Muslims from 4% to 12% and for STs from 6% to 10%. That bill is still waiting for the assent of the President.