JAMMU: A Commission set up by the Government for determining percentage of reservations to be given to Other Backward Classes (OBCs) is unlikely to recommend exact percentage and instead is expected to favour reservation proportionate to their population in Panchayats, Municipalities, Block Development Councils (BDCs) and District Development Councils (DDCs).
Extended term of the Commission headed by Justice (Retired) Janak Raj Kotwal and comprising RK Bhagat, a senior retired IAS officer and Prof Mohinder Singh Bhadwal, ex Dean SKUAST Jammu as Members, expired on December 31, 2024 and since then there had been no Government order to extend its term.
Officials, however, told the Excelsior that the Panel is likely to be given brief extension with back-dated effect and asked to submit its report so that reservations to the OBCs can be implemented in both urban and rural local bodies followed by elections to Panchayats and Municipalities which have been delayed by more than a year now.
The Commission has conducted nearly a six-month long exercise on taking a decision on reservations to the OBCs and is reported to have reached conclusion that the quota should be in proportionate to their population similar to the one given to Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs).
“The Commission is likely to make it clear that in no case the reservations to SCs, STs, OBCs and women should cross 50 percent in the local bodies which means half of the seats in Panchayats, Municipalities, BDCs and DDCs will remain open for general category candidates,” the sources said.
In case, percentage quota reaches 50 pc in a local body with women, SCs and STs; the OBCs will not get reservation in that body as SCs and STs have been given reservations by Constitutional provision and OBCs by statutory provision.
The Commission, as per the sources, has now received data pertaining to the OBCs from all 20 Deputy Commissioners. Delay in submission of findings by the Commission is also being attributed to delayed submission of data from some of the districts.
There has been 33 percent reservation to women in all local bodies which includes SC and ST Women. SCs and STs have been given reservation proportionate to their population. As per the sources, the Commission is expected to recommend reservation criteria for OBCs at par with SCs and STs i.e. in proportionate to their population.
The OBC Commission was set up on June 11 last year by the UT Government to determine percentage for the OBCs in Panchayats and Municipalities while the Chairman and Members were nominated on July 31.
Submission of report by the OBC Commission is mandatory before initiating the exercise for conducting Panchayat and Municipal elections.
The Panel visited several areas during past few months and interacted with people and their representatives to elicit their opinion on the OBC population.
The Commission had to face very tough task in the absence of census and conflicting data with some of the departments on the OBC population.
In Government jobs and educational institutions, the Government has given eight percent reservation to the OBCs after the Parliament passed a bill extending reservations to the OBCs for the first time in Jammu and Kashmir in February last year. Earlier, there were no reservations to the OBCs but four percent reservation was given to Other Social Castes (OSCs).
The Parliament also gave nod to the bill extending reservations to the OBCs in all three tiers of the Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) including District Development Councils (DDCs), Block Development Councils (BDCs) and Panchayats and Urban Local Bodies (ULBs).
Once the Commission submits its report, the Rural Development and Panchayati Raj Department will undertake an exercise to reserve the Wards for women, SCs, STs and OBCs in Panchayats followed by delimitation, if required.
Because of the reservations to OBCs for the first time in these bodies in Jammu and Kashmir, elections to Panchayats and Municipalities, which were due to be held in October-November, 2023 have been delayed.
The Municipalities, Panchayats and BDCs are now without elected members for more than one year. While term of the Municipalities ended in October-November 2023, the Panchayats completed their tenure on January 9 last year. Since term of the BDCs was co-terminus with the Panchayats, they too ceased to exist when five-year tenure of the Panchayats ended.
However, the District Development Councils whose elections were held for the first time in Jammu and Kashmir in December 2020 have their term till January 2026.
