The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh / Hyderabad News : State convenes all-party meet on creamy layer today

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Feb 17, 2006

Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh - Hyderabad

State convenes all-party meet on creamy layer today

Special Correspondent

High Court has asked for affidavit on Cabinet panel's decision

HYDERABAD: In the wake of the controversy over the move to identify creamy layer among the Backward Classes, the Government on Thursday announced its decision to convene a meeting of all floor leaders in the Assembly on Friday to discuss the issue. It clarified that no decision had been taken on the issue.

Addressing a press conference here, Minister for Backward Classes Welfare D. Srinivas, however, stated that a decision would have to be taken before February 21 in view of the High Court's direction on January 20 to the Government to file an affidavit within three weeks incorporating the Cabinet sub-committee's decision.

"The Government has to comply with the direction," he observed.

Declaring that nobody need entertain any doubts or fears, he sought to state that the Government would act positively and ensure that better opportunities were available to the Backward Classes.

Giving a background, he said the Government was not acting hastily and the matter had been pending for a long time. Cabinet sub-committees in successive Governments had grappled with it since 1994.

Besides, the Supreme Court had directed all State Governments in 1992 to categorise and fix norms with regard to BC reservation benefits and implementation.

He said the Centre had also fixed criteria for creamy layer and issued guidelines to the States. Based on the criteria fixed by the Centre, 12 States and five Union Territories had identified the creamy layer while seven States adopted their own norms to fix the annual income. The Centre had initially fixed the annual income ceiling at Rs.1 lakh and raised it subsequently to Rs.2.5 lakhs.

He said that Kerala and Uttar Pradesh had fixed the ceilng at Rs. 3 lakhs.

The Minister said that Andhra Pradesh, Manipur and Andaman and Nicobar administrations were still in the process of identifying the creamy layer.

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