HYDERABAD: In a major step towards social justice and political empowerment, the state cabinet, chaired by chief minister A Revanth Reddy, Thursday approved a proposal to extend 42% reservation to Backward Classes (BCs) in local bodies. The quota will be enforced through an ordinance, paving the way for holding panchayat elections with enhanced BC representation.In another key decision, the govt will soon issue a notification for 17,084 additional govt jobs, supplementing the 60,000 posts already sanctioned.The reservation percentage is based on empirical data from the caste survey conducted by the Congress govt and the report submitted by the dedicated BC commission, headed by Busani Venkateshwara Rao. The move aligns with the Supreme Court’s directives, and the cabinet approved amendments to relevant provisions of the Panchayat Raj Act, 2018, to enable the implementation of the quota.With governor Jishnu Dev Varma proroguing both the legislative assembly and the council on Thursday, the state govt now has the constitutional window to issue the ordinance, which cannot be done while the legislature is in session. The last session, which began on March 12, was officially prorogued on July 10.The cabinet made the ordinance decision after consulting legal experts and the state’s advocate general, who was also present during the meeting. Briefing the media, revenue minister Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy and BC welfare minister Ponnam Prabhakar said the ordinance was essential to avoid delays and legal complications.‘Commitment to BCs reflects in ordinance’ The proposal to extend 42% reservation to Backward Classes (BCs) in local bodies, approved at the cabinet meeting, will be enforced via an ordinance,“As per Rahul Gandhi’s promise, the Congress conducted a caste survey after coming to power. Two bills providing 42% reservation for BCs in education, employment, and local bodies were passed in the assembly and sent to the governor. But the Centre has been raising queries, stalling constitutional amendments needed for quota implementation. This ordinance reflects our firm commitment to BC political upliftment,” Srinivas Reddy said.Ponnam said the high court had, on June 25, directed the govt to complete the reservation process within a month and conduct elections by Sept 30. “We stand by our BC declaration made in Kamareddy. We urge all parties to support this reservation for smooth conduct of panchayat elections,” he said.Responding to concerns over the Supreme Court’s 50% cap on total reservations, Ponnam argued that the cap has already been breached with the Centre’s EWS quota, while Tamil Nadu has over 60% reservations. He emphasised that BCs constitute 56% of Telangana’s population, justifying the 42% reservation. To finalise BC reservations in local bodies, the govt will treat gram panchayats, sarpanchs, and MPTCs as mandal units, MPPs and ZPTCs as district units, and ZP chairpersons as the state unit.
