TS Govt sends report to Centre again seeking raise in Muslim, ST quotas

The Telangana government has once again written to the Centre regarding the need to enhance reservations for Muslims and Scheduled Tribes in the state.

Previously, the state government sent two Bills - the quota for Muslims from the current 4% to 12% and for Scheduled Tribes from 6% to 10% in the state, passed in the Assembly in April 2017 to the Centre seeking the inclusion in Schedule IX of the Constitution and the President's approval.

However, in response, the department of personnel and training (DoPT) stated that the decision was in violation of the Supreme Court order of 1992 in which the overall quota was capped at 50 percent.

Following this, the Telangana government consulted legal experts in the subject of reservation and prepared a draft report which was reviewed by Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao. The report was then submitted to the Centre. 

In its recent report, the state government informed the DoPT that Telangana fits into the case where the 50% cap on reservations can be exceeded. Clarifying further, the government explained regarding the increase of ST population from 7 to 9.08 percent and Muslims by 9.56% to 12.68% after bifurcation.

Citing reports of the BS Ramulu-headed BC Commission, G Sudhir Commission, and Chellappa Commission, the Telangana government pointed out that over 80% of Muslims in the state have been categorized as backward by various commissions besides lagging behind the average in literacy and employment.