After the Ordinance on food security to woo the poor, the Government is now planning to reach out to the economically backward classes among the general category, ahead of the lok Sabha polls next year.
An all-new quota for non-Income Tax payers may be in the offing, and the proposal for carving out Economically Backward Classes (EBC’s) is at an advanced stage of consultation. The Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment (MSJE) has moved a Cabinet note based on the EBC Commission’s report identifying a new category for the economically weaker sections for inter-ministerial group recommendations. This new category, within the general category, if created, will get the same benefits as the Other Backward Classes (OBCs).
Despite several political parties demanding quota for EBCs, the move could just remain a poll gimmick because of the legal cap of 50 per cent on quotas. Providing quota to EBCs will require Constitutional amendment and clearance from the Supreme Court. It is unlikely that in the remaining months, the Government could cross all these hurdles.
The commission, headed by Chairman Major-General (Retd) SR Sinho had submitted its report to MSJE on 22 July 2010. The report had defined the EBCs as, “All BPl families among the General Category (GC) as notified from time to time and all those families among GC whose annual family income from all sources is below the taxable limit should be identified as EBCs.”
“At the IMG discussions, we are seeking opinions on whether the family should be a unit of identification of EBCs in the general category. Another important area to be discussed is whether the income of Rs 2 lakh (taxable limit as revised from time to time) may be accepted for the purpose of identification of EBCs. Other parameters, if any, emerging out of the socio-economic caste census may be introduced later,” said an official from the MSJE. The Sinho-led commission’s report made a total of 14 recommendations. One of the recommendations said that EBCs, who number about 5-6 crore, deserve the same concessions as given to Scheduled Castes and tribes.
The commission, in its report, included all those not paying Income Tax as EBCs. The commission had recommended other criteria, too, such as possession of land, the type of house owned, the type of land, whether it is irrigated, the size of the home, the location (as in border areas or inaccessible ones) or whether a person is part of a shifting population, as in migrant workers. The chairman and the members of the EBC Commission had been appointed in July, 2006. The committee was constituted to suggest criteria for identification for economically backward classes as well as recommend welfare measures and quantum of reservation in education and Government employment to the extent as appropriate.