Cabinet gives nod for bill seeking 27% OBC quota

The Government is likely to introduce the controversial bill in the Parliament by the 25th of this month. Have your say

The Union Cabinet on Monday night approved a Constitution amendment bill providing for reservation of seats for Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and backward castes in Government-aided elite educational institutions, including IITs and IIMs, during the current session of Parliament.

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Information and Broadcasting Minister PR Dasmunsi refused to divulge the details of the legislation claiming privilege of the House but said the bill will be brought by August 25, the last day of the monsoon session.

It is understood that the Government has not for the moment taken up the proposal for implementing reservation in unaided educational institutions. The proposed reservation in the first phase is also expected to cover central institutions like NITs and central universities. 

Monday's decision taken at a two-hour special meeting of the Cabinet implies that the reservation proposal would be implemented in a phased manner and not in one go as demanded by parties like DMK and PMK, key UPA constituents, and strong votaries of reservation.

Details of the quantum of reservation were not spelt out but it is believed that it could be up to 27 percent for OBCs and combined with the quota for SC and ST.

The Cabinet decision on Monday caps a bitter controversy triggered six months ago by HRD Minister Arjun Singh's statement on reservation in these institutions that sparked agitation by medicos in the Capital and elsewhere.

The proposal could not be implemented then because of the impending assembly elections and the agitation. The Government set up an Oversight Committee to prepare the roadmap for implementation of the reservation proposal.

The decision marks a new phase in affirmative actions for backward castes and SC and ST after the implementation of the Mandal Commission report for job reservation in early 1990s.

The committee headed by Veerappa Moily has already given an interim report and is expected to submit its final report on August 31. 

The implementation of the measure would substantially increase the availability of seats for OBCs and is also expected to ensure a similar rise in the number of general seats so as to ensure that those other than the reserved categories are not affected.  

Sources said the measure would be implemented in a staggered manner and exclude the creamy layer given the fact that its implementation in one go would require a whopping Rs 16,500 crore.

The creamy layer has been excluded in the matter of reservation in jobs for OBCs and the same principle is likely to be followed in the education field too, the sources said.

The elite educational institutions, which may find it difficult to implement the process in a short span, would be allowed to seek time. But the process would have to be completed within three years, they said. 

The UPA's southern allies - DMK and PMK - had petitioned Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for implementing the quota in one go and Left parties were also of the same view. Arjun Singh, who is championing the quota cause, was also keen on implementing the process from the next academic year. 

Some of these parties had pleaded with the Prime Minister that there should not be any dilution on the issue.

The Oversight Committee, in its interim report to the Prime Minister recently, gave strong indications that the implementation could be done in phases in view of certain issues and constraints expressed by elite institutions.

The institutions have expressed concern over the timeframe for implementing the quotas and the possibility of sudden expansion of seats "leading to loss of merit and excellence".

The issue gained centre stage late last year after the Supreme Court judgment striking down reservation in unaided educational institutions, which raised a storm of protests with leaders cutting across party lines favouring a constitutional amendment to nullify the apex court order.