Bhubaneswar: The Odisha government on Wednesday constituted a commission to examine the numerical strength, political representation and extent of political backwardness of socially and educationally backward classes (SEBCs) in local self-government institutions across the state.
Acting on a decision taken by Chief Minister Mohan Majhi, the commission will examine the demographic proportion of SEBCs relative to the total population in local bodies across both rural (panchayats) and urban areas. Additionally, it will evaluate the current level of their political representation, along with assessing the nature and implications of their political backwardness.
The commission will be headed by retired Odisha High Court Judge Justice Pramath Patnaik as Chairman. Retired IAS officer Bijay Kumar Prusti will serve as a member, while Sujata Mishra, Special Secretary to the Welfare Department, will act as the Member-Secretary, according to the official notification issued by the Department of Scheduled Tribes and Scheduled Castes Development, Minorities and Backward Classes Welfare.
The exercise is expected to help the state government put in place appropriate measures to ensure adequate representation and safeguard the rights of socially and educationally backward classes in local self-government institutions.
It may be recalled that the Chief Minister had earlier provided 11.25 per cent reservation for students belonging to these communities in professional higher education institutions, including medical and engineering colleges, across Odisha.
This come a day after the State Election Commission (SEC) convened an all-party meeting to discuss the preparation of a transparent, fair, and error-free electoral roll for the upcoming Panchayat and Urban Local Body (ULB) elections scheduled for 2027. A door-to-door survey is scheduled to commence on October 26 to collect and verify voter-related information.
