Marathas now EWS; 6K youths to get govt jobs

Weeks after the Supreme Court quashed the reservation to Maratha community, the state government put them in the 10% Economically Weak Section (EWS) quota to accommodate over 6,000 youth from the community into government service

Weeks after the Supreme Court quashed the reservation to Maratha community, the state government put them in the 10% Economically Weak Section (EWS) quota to accommodate over 6,000 youth from the community into government service.

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The Maharashtra government on Monday issued a resolution announcing that community members with an annual family income of less than ₹8 lakh can take advantage of the quota. The resolution has also clarified that the community can avail the benefits for the quota with retrospective effect, helping those who had received the benefits during the period of interim stay by the Bombay High Court on September 9, 2020 and Supreme Court quashing the quota on May 5, 2021.

The 6,000 youth were selected under the erstwhile Maratha quota, but they were not formally recruited as the quota was scrapped before the process could be completed. The government has now included Marathas in the EWS with retrospective effect which means they will be accommodated in government service.

The EWS is available for all candidates in the open category who fulfil the criteria of being economically weak. Candidates from castes that have reservation do not get the benefit of EWS. As Marathas no longer have a quota, the government has now scrapped the previous order and issued a fresh one saying they are eligible for the EWS.

“There are about 6,000 youth who had completed various stages of recruitment in government jobs of various departments before September 9, 2020, but were not given appointment letters. The SC order does not give protection to the employees not recruited before September 9 last year. Although the state government had taken the decision of accommodating the community in EWS on September 22, the order was issued only on December 23 because of the resistance of the community. People were recruited during this period. With the help of this order, we can now consider accommodating such youth in EWS quota. Some of the candidates from EWS quota may get thrown out of reservation, but we are considering accommodating them by creating extra posts,” said an official from Mantralaya.

The Supreme Court on May 5, scrapped 13 and 12% quota in jobs and education to Marathas under the Socially and Educationally Backward Classes Act, 2018. The SC, however, protected the jobs given before September 9, 2020. The state has appointed a high-level committee under retired high court judge Dilip Bhosale to study the court order and recommend the way forward till May 31. The committee has given seven more days submit its report till June 7. “Besides the legal recourse to find a way out to get the reservation back, the committee is also expected to recommend alternatives to safeguard the jobs of youth who could not be recruited in due time. The decision will be taken in days after the submission of the report,” the official said.

Maratha community leaders have expressed their unhappiness over the government decision. “We will not get even 4% share of the EWS quota as many other communities from open category are getting these benefits,” said Rajendra Kondhare, general secretary, Akhil Bharatiya Maratha Mahasangh.

Meanwhile, BJP MP and Maratha leader Sambhajhiraje Chhatrapati stirred controversy on Monday by saying that government was spying on him. In a tweet in the evening, he said that he was surprised to learn that government was spying on him with the help of police personnel in his security squad. However, hours after, he tweeted it was a misunderstanding. “State home minister Dilip Walse Patil spoke to me and clarified that there was not such intention. The additional police force was given to prevent any nuisance. I am satisfied with it,” he tweeted.