Bhubaneswar: Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Thursday reiterated his demand for reservation for Other Backward Classes (OBCs) and Socio Economic Backward Classes (SEBCs) in the field of public employment and educational institutions.
In a letter to Odisha Chief Minister, Pradhan said that on his request the State government had constituted the State Commission for Backward Classes on February 12, 2020.
“However, the report of the Commission is yet to be submitted and my request of reservations for OBCs is yet to be implemented,” Pradhan’s said in his letter.
The Union Minister further stated that necessary affirmative action in favour of State’s OBC and SEBC population is highly required. Both OBCs and SEBCs constitute a considerable portion of the total population in Odisha who have been deprived of opportunities in the field of education and employment thereby scuttling the socio-economic development of these disadvantaged communities.
The Centre has made 27 per cent reservation for OBC (Other Backward Class) and 10 per cent reservation for SEBC (Socially and Economically Backward Class). But the Odisha government is yet to implement it.
Significant reservations over and above this percentage have been enacted in States like Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra and Karnataka.
“The indecision and delay displayed by the State government of Odisha in taking affirmative action for OBCs and SEBCs is a glaring disservice to the spirt of balancing scales of socio-economic development in the State,” Pradhan wrote while urging CM Naveen to accord long-overdue priority to the needs of Odisha’s large and disadvantaged OBC and SEBC population.
On December 28, the Odisha State Cabinet approved a resolution proposing quota in Medical and Engineering courses for students of government-run schools in the State.
The State government had also announced to form a high-powered committee under the chairmanship of a retired Orissa High Court judge to fix the modalities in three months for the effective implementation of the recommendations from the next academic year.