Telangana to raise BC reservation in local body polls to 42%; ordinance sent to Guv Verma
The High Court had directed the government to finalise the reservation process by July-end and hold panchayat elections by September 30
By Newsmeter Network
Telangana to raise BC reservation in local body polls to 42%; ordinance sent to Guv Verma
Hyderabad: The Telangana government has sent a draft ordinance to Governor Jishnu Dev Varma seeking to raise Backward Classes (BC) reservation in local body elections to 42 per cent.
Ordinance aims to amend the Panchayat Raj Act
The draft ordinance seeks to amend Section 285A of the Telangana Panchayat Raj Act, 2018, which currently caps total reservations for Scheduled Castes (SCs), Scheduled Tribes (STs), and BCs in local bodies at 50 per cent, in line with Supreme Court rulings.
Move comes ahead of court deadline
The decision comes as the deadline fixed by the Telangana High Court to finalise reservation in gram panchayats ends this month. The High Court had directed the government to finalise the reservation process by July-end and hold panchayat elections by September 30.
Proposal cleared by Law Department and CM
The Panchayat Raj Departmentās proposal to amend the Act was approved by the Law Department and subsequently cleared by Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy, before being forwarded to Raj Bhavan for the Governorās approval.
Fulfilling election promise to BCs
Enhancing the BC reservation was a key promise made by the Congress during the 2023 elections. In March, the Assembly passed two Bills to raise BC reservation in education, jobs, and local bodies to 42 per cent, based on the caste census conducted in the state, and sent them to the Centre for Presidential assent.
Awaiting Centreās nod
However, with the Centre yet to respond to the stateās request for approval, the Cabinet decided to issue an ordinance to ensure local body elections are conducted with the increased BC quota.
Backed by empirical data
The Cabinet noted that a dedicated BC Commission was constituted as per Supreme Court directions, and a caste census was conducted. Based on this empirical data, the Assembly passed the Bills to enhance the BC quota, and the government is now taking further steps to implement 42 per cent reservation for BCs in local bodies.
