The committee formed by the Uttar Pradesh government to look into the issue of reservation for the Other Backward Classes (OBCs) in local bodies is likely to submit its preliminary report in three months, and will take two or three more months to complete the remaining procedures.
Speaking with media persons after the panel’s first meeting, the committee’s chairman Justice (Reitred) Ram Avtar Singh said that the guidelines of the Supreme Court and the High Court would be followed in letter and spirit regarding the reservation for OBCs in urban civic bodies. “The committee will submit its first report in the next three months. The remaining necessary procedures will be completed in a period of 2-3 months,” said the chairman.
The committee added that the work would be completed within the six month deadline stipulated by the UP government. The committee will visit all the 75 districts of the State to get accurate data in the triple test survey. It will also study related cases from States such as Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Karnataka.
Amid criticism from Opposition parties after the Allahabad High Court decision directing the U.P. government to conduct urban local body elections in the State without the OBC quota, the State government last week constituted a five-member committee to look into the issue. The panel will conduct a triple test formula, and the OBC reservation for municipal polls will be decided on the basis of its report.
Apart from Justice Singh, the five-member committee includes retired Indian Administrative Service officers Chob Singh Verma and Mahendra Kumar, former legal advisor Santosh Kumar Vishwakarma and former additional legal advisor and additional district judge Brijesh Kumar Soni.
COMMents
SHARE