U-turn: HRD Ministry supports EOC

Reversing its earlier position,HRD Ministry has supported creation of Equal Opportunities Commission (EOC),proposed by the Sachar Committee to look into the grievances of deprived groups....

Reversing its earlier position,HRD Ministry has supported creation of Equal Opportunities Commission (EOC),proposed by the Sachar Committee to look into the grievances of deprived groups.

In 2008,HRD Ministry,then headed by Arjun Singh,wrote to Minority Affairs Ministry that the proposed commission was undesirable and not required as there were already several national-level bodies and panels for affirmative action. Creation of another commission,the Ministry argued,would only lead to multiplicity of such organisations and duplication of functions. The ministrys position had raised quite a few eyebrows then.

HRD ministry now says it has no objection to the setting up of EOC as long as it does not impinge on the powers and functions of National Commission on Minority Educational Institutes (NCMEI).

EOC,a key recommendation of Sachar Committee,was meant to enhance legal basis for providing equal opportunities. It is now under the consideration of a GoM,which includes P Chidambaram,A K Antony,Veerappa Moily,Anand Sharma,Kapil Sibal,Mamata Banerjee,Mukul Wasnik,Mallikarjun Kharge,Kumari Selja,Kantilal Buria and Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia. The GoM will resolve the issue of overlapping of jurisdictions of other commission with EOC.

Ministry of Minority Affairs maintains EOC will be different from all existing commissions as it will not address individual grievances but more structural ones. EOC will have the powers of a civil court to summon,investigate and recommend action without passing any sentences. Minority Affairs Ministry had earlier set up a panel,headed by legal expert N R Madhava Menon,to help finalise the nature and functions of the commission.