Urban local body elections: Will submit report in 3 months: New panel on OBC quota survey
The five-member commission, constituted by the Uttar Pradesh government to conduct a survey for OBC quota in the urban local body elections, held its first meeting in Lucknow on Saturday for a preliminary discussion and estimated that it may take around three months to submit its report. The panel members said they would take another […]
3 min read
Lucknow: Justice (Rtd) Ram Avatar Singh, head of a commission set up to decide the OBC reservation for Uttar Pradeshs urban local bodies elections, with other members during a press conference, in Lucknow, Saturday, Dec. 31, 2022. (Photo: PTI)(PTI12_31_2022_000207B) The five-member commission, constituted by the Uttar Pradesh government to conduct a survey for OBC quota in the urban local body elections, held its first meeting in Lucknow on Saturday for a preliminary discussion and estimated that it may take around three months to submit its report. The panel members said they would take another two to three months to decide on the follow-up action.
The commission has been formed by the state government to ensure that the benefits of reservation are provided to the OBCs in the local body polls on the basis of the “triple test” condition. “The commission has started work from today. We will try to submit the report in three months and will see to it that the commission’s work is completed within six months,” said Justice (retired) Ram Avtar Singh, who is heading the commission.
The other members of the commission are former additional law advisors Santosh Kumar Vishwakarma and Brajesh Kumar Soni and, retired IAS officers Chob Singh Verma and Mahendra Kumar. During the meeting, the commission also decided that it will tour districts and meet district magistrates and revenue officers to collect data for the survey report.
Speaking to media persons after the meeting, Justice (retired) Ram Avtar Singh said the commission first has to decide the procedure for completing the task assigned to it. “Meetings will be held almost every day and the panel would first decide the procedure and guidelines for the survey… The commission will study the procedure adopted by the other states like Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Karnataka and will then adopt a procedure that is suitable for Uttar Pradesh,” he added.
In its order earlier this week, Allahabad High Court’s Lucknow Bench had said that until the “triple test/conditions” as mandated by the Supreme Court are completed in all respects by the state government, no reservation for OBC citizens shall be provided in the urban local body polls.
The “triple test” requires the state to set up a commission to conduct am empirical inquiry into the nature and implications of the backwardness qua local bodies, within the state; to specify the proportion of reservation required to be provisioned local body-wise in light of recommendations of the commission, so as not to fall foul of overbreadth; and in any case such reservation shall not exceed an aggregate of 50 per cent of the total seats reserved in favour of SCs/STs/OBCs taken together.
You May Like
Photos
