A six-member panel appointed by the state government to study the condition of Muslims has recommended eight per cent reservation for the community in government jobs in Maharashtra. If accepted,the percentage of reservation in the state given to various sections of the society would reach 60 per cent. The panel headed by retired bureaucrat Mahmood-ur-Rehman,which has been working on the report since 2011,is likely to submit it to Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan in the first week of September. The report says the socio-economic condition of Muslims is comparatively poor than that of other communities in the state and one of the ways to uplift them would be to give reservations. The panel has arrived at the eight per cent figure taking into consideration the population of Muslims in the state,which is around 10.6 per cent. It says almost 80 per cent of Muslims are living in abject conditions in the state and hence the need for reservations. There is a recommendation to provide eight per cent reservation,which should be time-bound for a period of 20 years. There is also a suggestion that a 33 per cent sub-quota should be carved out for Muslim women from this quota, sources said. The state presently does not give reservation based on religion. However,some Muslim communities are included under the Other Backward Classes and Scheduled Castes categories,which are eligible for quota. However,this number is very miniscule. The Mahmood-ur-Rahman committee,which includes retired bureaucrats and academicians,was initially set up in 2008 by the then chief minister late Vilasrao Deshmukh to look into the backwardness of Muslims. The committee had submitted its interim report in 2008 and had then become dormant. In 2011,Chief Minister Prithivraj Chavan reconstituted the committee,asking it to look into the problems faced by the Muslim community. We have finished drafting our report and will submit it to the chief minister as soon as we get his time, Mahmood-ur-Rahman said. We have have highlighted some factors that came to our notice and suggested remedial measures,one of which is providing reservations, Rahman said. The state presently provides 52 per cent reservations to different sections of society.
