After Maratha quota, Maharashtra initiates process to fill 72K posts

The government has asked all its departments to give details of all the posts that are vacant and the number of posts that have to be filled as per the new caste reservation quota

After notifying 16% reservation to the Maratha community as Socially and Educationally Backward Community (SEBC), the state has initiated the process for filling 72,000 vacant posts as per the new caste reservation quota.

To get reservation benefits, the Marathas will have to show the caste certificate of the community they belong to, officials said. (HT File)

The government has asked all its departments to give details of all the posts that are vacant and the number of posts that have to be filled under the SEBC quota.

On Tuesday, the chief secretary Dinesh Kumar Jain held a meeting with senior officials to discuss the modalities.

“All the departments have been asked to provide details about posts that need to be filled in accordance with the new caste reservation quota in the state. We are in the process of identifying the number of vacant posts that need to be filled under the SEBC quota in every department. We will start the recruitment drive after that,” said Shivajirao Daund, secretary, state general administration department (GAD), present in the meeting.

The vacant seats under SEBC quota will be determined based on the posts to be filled under the general category. To get reservation benefits, the Marathas will have to show the caste certificate of the community they belong to, officials said.

“Marathas needs to present the caste certificate to prove that they belong to that community. For which, they will have to apply with the authority concerned at the district level. Soon, directives will be given to start issuing caste certificates to them,” Daund said.

The state government had recently passed the Maharashtra State Reservation for Socially and Educationally Backward Classes (SEBC) Act, 2018, that provides 16% reservation to the politically influential Maratha community in government jobs and education.

For this, it has formed a separate SEBC category increasing the quota for caste reservation in the state to 68% from the existing 52%. With the move, quota for the general category has come down to 32% from the existing 48%.

Though the legislation has to face legal scrutiny as it violated the cap of 50% caste reservation, mandated by the Supreme Court, the state government decided to initiate the process of recruitment that was stalled following the protest by the Marathas.

HC to hear plea against reservation

In response to PIL filed by Gunratna Sadavarte in the Bombay HC against Maratha reservation, Akhil Maratha Federation, the umbrella body of more than 60 organisations representing Marathas, filed an intervention application in the court. The application was filed on Tuesday by Shashikant Pawar, president of the federation. Chandrakant Patil, revenue minister and head of the cabinet sub-committee appointed for reservation, held a meeting with legal experts. He also consulted advocate general Ashutosh Kunbis and sought opinion on the further steps government needs to take.