In a major policy initiative aimed at ending the impasse over reservations, the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVS) Government on Wednesday decided to promulgate an ordinance to restore a maximum of 27 per cent reservation to the OBC community while remaining within the 50 per cent ceiling as done by southern states of Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu.
The decision was taken at a weekly State Cabinet meeting presided over by chief minister Uddhav Thackeray.
The development comes ahead of the by-elections to the 85 election blocks in five Zilla Parishads and 144 voting blocks in 33 Panchayat Samitis in Maharashtra scheduled for October 5. The six Zilla Parishads and Panchayat Samitis, where the by-polls are scheduled, are in Nagpur, Akola and Washim districts in Vidarbha region and the districts of Dhule and Nandurbar in North Maharashtra.
Talking to media persons here, Maharashtra Food and Civil Supplies Minister and OBC leader Chhagan Bhujbal said: “The Maharashtra government will promulgate an ordinance to restore OBC reservation in local body polls. This won't cross the 50% reservation cap. The ordinance will be issued on the line of Andhra Pradesh & Tamil Nadu government decision".
In March this year, the apex court had read down a provision of the Maharashtra ZP and Panchayat Samitis Act of1961 to mean that reservation in favour of OBCs in the concerned local bodies can be notified to the extent that it does not exceed aggregate 50 per cent of the total seats reserved in favour of SCs/STs/OBCs taken together. The SC had also quashed a few notifications issued in 2018 and 2020 by the SEC.
Ity may be recalled that on July 9, the SEC had stayed the by-elections to the vacant posts in five Zilla Parishads and 33 Panchayat Samitis scheduled for July 19, 2021.
The stay on the ZP and Panchayat by-polls had followed a Supreme Court directive. It may be recalled that on July 6, the apex court had asked the SEC, Maharashtra, to decide on whether to hold or postpone the by-elections to the vacant positions of five ZP and 33 panchayat samitis after considering the Disaster Management Authority notifications and whether the prevalent pandemic conditions are “conducive’’.
On its part, the SEC had told the Supreme Court that if the situation on the ground is conducive for conducting by-elections in the concerned constituency and there was no prohibitory order or lockdown order operating in those areas, it could proceed with the election program while ensuring that the standard operating procedures and that it would follow the Covid-19 protocols as notified by the competent authorities, in its letter and spirit". The SC directed SEC to proceed in the matter in accordance with law and report compliance within two months.
To restore political reservation for the OBCs in local bodies, the state government has sought empirical data from the Centre on the population of the community.
Last week, the chief minister had called an all-party meeting, at which it was unanimously decided that local body polls be postponed till the state backward class commission compiles empirical data giving a clear picture on political backwardness of OBCs.