Telangana all set to tweak quota

Govt to adopt two bills for Muslims and STs; BC commission to study quota afresh

​Hyderabad: Telangana State Government is all set to revise the reservation in education and employment for BCs and SCs communities apart from increasing reservations to the Muslim and STs communities in the state.

While, the government would adopt two bills to increase reservation for Muslims and STs in the Assembly on April 16, the BC commission has been instructed to take up a fresh study on the need to increase of reservation for the backward communities.

Addressing the media after the cabinet meeting, Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao said that the cabinet had approved the BC commission report on the enhancement of reservations for certain socially and economically backward classes.

Stating that the government was strictly following the Tamil Nadu model to increase reservations for the backward communities, he said the quantum of reservation to be increased to Muslims and STs would be decided at the next cabinet meeting to be held on April 15 based on the recommendations made by Justice Chellappa and Sudhir Commissions.

The Chief Minister clarified that the State Government was not giving reservation on the basis of religion. He said that the government was only increasing the percentage of reservation which is already in implementation. He said that some Muslims groups under BC-E category were getting 4% reservation while the STs are getting 6% reservation. He said quotas for these groups would be enhanced.

The Chief Minister said the government would bring in Telangana Reservation Act for Muslims and Scheduled Tribes during the one day session of Assembly. Higher reservations for Muslims was already under implementation in Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Kerala and Karnataka.

He observed that Tamil Nadu was implementing 69 per cent reservation, Jharakhand – 60 per cent, Maharashtra -52 per cent and Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Mizoram and Meghalaya were providing 80 per cent reservation to the STs who dominated the population in the North Eastern States.

He said in view of Gujjar and Jat agitation, Rajasthan Assembly has passed a resolution seeking increase in reservation percentage to 68%. He said that the resolution has been sent to the Centre for Presidential assent.

Based on the changes in the social composition, Telangana government is also committed to increase reservation to SCs, STs, BCs and Muslims who constitute 90 per cent of the population in the state. The adopted bills would be forwarded to the Union government for the Presidential assent. If rejected, TS government would knock on the doors of Supreme Court, he said.

The Centre will have to treat all states on par and it cannot adopt one stand in regard to one state and another stand for Telangana.

Asserting the need to accord full powers to the states to increase reservations based on the social conditions of the local communities, KCR said the terms of references were already issued to the BC commission and it was also asked to submit a report on the socio –economic status of BCs in six months.

The SC commission would also be constituted soon to study the necessity of the increasing reservation quota for the particular community. SCs were constituted 16.3 per cent of the total population but they were provided only 15 per cent reservation. He attributed lack of sincerity in the Congress government in the erstwhile Andhra Pradesh which had put legal hurdles in the implementation of 5 per cent reservation to Muslims.