Maratha Reservation Bill Passed | Latest Burning Issues

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WHAT JUST HAPPENED?

Maharashtra Assembly unanimously passed a bill proposing a 16% reservation for Marathas under socially and educationally backward category. The bill provides for reservation of seats for admission in educational institutions and posts in public services to Marathas who have been declared as socially and educationally backward class

WHAT IT MEANS ?

Maratha community will now get 16 per cent reservation, both in jobs and education in the state, which surpasses the 50 per cent cap put on the reservation by the Supreme Court. Given that Maharashtra already has 52 per cent quota, the Maratha quota will take the reservation to 68 per cent.

PARLIAMENT NOD AND LEGAL BATTLE NEXT CHALLENGE

With the Maratha Reservation Bill passed by the Maharashtra legislature, the next — and bigger — challenge for the community will be to get approval from Parliament, and to win the legal battles that will almost inevitably follow. Efforts at extending reservations beyond the Supreme Court mandated ceiling have mostly struggled in courts.

PARLIAMENT NOD AND LEGAL BATTLE NEXT CHALLENGE

Two-thirds majority in both Houses, which the BJP does not have on its own. Shoring up support from other parties could take time.

WHAT SC HAS SAID ON RESERVATIONS

The Supreme Court, in a 1992 order, had capped reservations in government jobs and education at 50 per cent. But in an order in July 2010, it allowed states to exceed the 50 per cent limit for reservation, provided they had solid scientific data to justify the increase.

RESERVATIONS IN VARIOUS STATES

In Tamil Nadu, the reservation is 18% for SCs, 1% for STs, 20% BC and 30%MBC (69% total) based on local demographics
In Jharkhand, the reservation is 11% for SCs, 27% for STs and 22% OBC (60% total)
In Haryana, the reservation is 20% for SCs, 16% for backward class A, 11% for backward class B, 10% special backward class, 10% economically backward in open caste and 3% for physically handicapped (70% total)

SCIENTIFIC DATA FOR MARATHAS

Introduction of the bill was preceded by the action taken report on the State Backward Class Commission’s recommendations for Maratha quota It surveyed nearly 45,000 families across Maharashtra and received petitions from more than 2 lakh Marathas.

STATE BACKWARD CLASS COMMISSION

37% of Marathas are below the poverty line (the requirement is 25%), 62% of them are marginal and small landholders (the requirement is 48%) 93% of the families earned less than Rs one lakh a year (well below the average middle class income), 77% of Marathas were engaged in agriculture, 60%-65% of Marathas surveyed lived in informal or “kuchcha” houses, only 4.3% had jobs in the academia and barely 6% in government or semi-government services

CRITICISM OF THE REPORT

Ten of Maharashtra’s 18 chief ministers since the state was founded in 1960 have been Maratha Almost all the state’s milk cooperatives and cooperative credit institutions were under their control, as are half of Maharashtra’s private educational institutions. Powerful Maratha families have large land holdings, they headed 85 of the state’s 105 sugar factories and 23 district cooperative banks.

HISTORY

The previous Congress-NCP had announced reservations for Martha community in 2014, but it was set aside by the Bombay High Court. Though it was challenged in the Supreme Court, the matter was sent back the High Court. The state government was asked to prove the backwardness of the community, a norm for according reservation for a community.