Maratha reservation: Govt pulls all strength to complete survey work in 7 days

“The survey work to check social and educational backwardness of Marathas should be completed within seven days. The district collectors concerned are authorised to increase the number of enumerators as many as required,” it said.

The district collectors are being empowered to seek services of officials and employees at the government and semi-government offices, local civic bodies and any resource that is found necessary.

Gokhale Institute of Politics and Economics, Pune has prepared the questionnaire which has over 100 questions. It has also prepared the mobile application where the answers will be recorded. The institute has prepared the questionnaire which has social, economic and educational dimension with each having nearly 35 questions. Sources within the government said that the over one to one-and-a-half lakh employees will be working across the state as enumerators.

Despite the state government’s rush to complete the survey, Maratha activist Balasaheb Sarate, who has been fighting a legal battle on the issues of reservation, said the rush is only to prevent Jarange-Patil from coming to Mumbai. “The report prepared in this manner will not give reservation to Marathas which was scrapped by five-judge panel of the Supreme Court. The report is prepared by the state government with an intention to give reservation to Marathas crossing the 50% limit set by the apex court. This will be scrapped again, I fear,” said Sarate.

He mentioned that the issues like reservation should not be rushed in this manner.

The government has appointed divisional commissioners at the divisional level, district collectors at district level and municipal commissioners at urban areas as the nodal officials for the survey.

State government’s decision to complete the survey within seven days comes two days after Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Tuesday directed the state administration to prioritise the survey work of Maratha community undertaken by the state backward classes commission to complete it in a timely manner.

“The survey undertaken by the state backward class commission is of utmost importance to prove the backwardness of Maratha community. All district collectors and divisional commissioners should give priority to this work. This work must be completed through a special cell in a time-bound manner,” said Shinde. He was speaking at the cabinet sub-committee meeting on Maratha reservation.

Maharashtra state backward class commission is being tasked to prepare the report to ascertain the social and educational backwardness of Marathas and terms of reference for which were sent to the commission on November 13, 2023 by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde. Commission’s former chairman Justice Anand Nirgude (retd) and two members namely Balaji Killarikar and Laxman Hake have resigned from the commission. Killarikar and Hake submitted resignations to protest against government’s diktat to the commission by dictating ToR.