Maha mulls how to reserve local body seats for OBCs | Economic Times

Maharashtra plans to reserve seats for OBCs in local bodies within the 50% quota limit set by the Supreme Court. The MVA government put forth the proposal at an all-party meeting on Friday but a final decision will be taken after legal consultations and another meet of parties next week.If the plan is implemented, districts with Scheduled Caste and Schedule Tribe quota of 20-30% will see quota for OBC candidates for the remaining 30-20%, while keeping the limit below 50%. In some districts the OBC candidate may get even 35% of seats as the current seats for SC/ST candidates is only 15%.While all parties at the meeting agreed that local body polls should not be held without restoring OBC quota, there was difference of opinion on how to achieve it. The government said OBC candidates in 30 districts would benefit from the formula and only in five districts OBCs would not benefit as the current reservation for different sections has exceeded 50%.85705366The new formula would require legal changes. For instance, the Supreme Court while quashing the quota in local bodies had said that the state had to set up an empirical study on the number of OBCs. The BJP delegation led by Devendra Fadnavis on Friday highlighted the need for completing such a study lest the new plan faced legal challenges. Though the current formula would keep the total quota below 50%, there was no empirical data to justify the quota, one of the reasons SC had given while striking down the reservation.Food and civil supplies minister Chhagan Bhujbal told reporters that it was decided to seek legal opinion before another all-party meeting next week. Fadnavis said that the Supreme Court had not struck down the OBC quota but had read it down. “The Supreme Court had put forth the three tests for the state to comply and if the state complies with them, reservation can be given.The Maharashtra government and the BJP have been at loggerheads on the issue of the OBC quota. The MVA government has said that the Centre has to legislate to allow states to raise the quota above 50%. It has also has said that the Centre was not providing empirical data collected during Census 2011 to states like Maharashtra.