Two out of five members of the National Commission for Backward Classes whose term has now expired have appended a dissent note to an advice by the commission that orphans and destitute children who are enjoying reservations in Telangana and two other States be included in the Central list of Other Backward Classes for all States and Union Territories.
Instead, they suggested that the inclusion can only be for Telangana, Tamil Nadu and Rajasthan where this section is included among State BCs. The advisory of the commission to the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment in October last year has been referred to the Ministry of Women and Child Development for comments, sources said.
The commission headed by former Judge of Andhra Pradesh V. Eashwaraiah took the view “orphans and destitute children who have lost their parents before reaching the age of ten and are destitute and who have nobody else to take care of them either by law or custom and who are admitted to any of the schools or orphanages either run or recognised by the government be included in the Central list of OBCs for all States/Union Territories”.
It was on the basis of a letter from the Member-Secretary of the commission in May 2015 that the State government issued an order in September that year including orphans and destitute children among BCs in Group ‘A’ at serial number 55.
The commission sent the letter on the basis of a proposal by Tamil Nadu government seeking inclusion of orphans and destitute children in the Central list of OBCs.
