New Delhi: The commission under former Chief Justice of the Delhi high court, G. Rohini, which is tasked with the sub-categorisation of the Other Backward Classes has been given its 14th extension by the President.
The commission was formed by the President under Article 340 of the constitution in October 2017. It was first given 12 weeks to slot the nearly 3,000 caste groups that make up India’s OBCs into categories. The commission would then have to recommend how the 27% reservation for OBCs could be distributed among these sub-categories in a manner that was most equitable.
The Hindu has reported that according to a gazette notification issued by the Union Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment last week, the commission “shall present its report by 31st July, 2023”.
First, the government sought more time to gather information and data, and then the pandemic intervened. The fresh six-month extension comes weeks after commission members told The Hindu in December that their report was “in the final stages” and would be submitted in January.
In 2018, a consultation paper prepared by the commission was reported to have found that of the jobs and educational positions reserved for OBCs at the Central level, 97% have gone to people from less than a quarter of all OBC sub-castes. In addition, 938 OBC sub-castes – which make up 37% of the total number – have no representation at all in the reserved seats.
The sub-castes benefitting from the reservations, according to Indian Express which originally reported on the paper, are Yadav, Kurmi, Jat, Saini, Thevar, Ezhava and Vokkaliga.