Bhubaneswar: Union Petroleum and Steel Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Wednesday reiterated his request to Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik for allowing reservations for Other Backward Classes (OBCs) in government jobs and educational institutions and for Socially Educationally Backward Classes (SEBCs) in educational institutions in the state.
“Central Government has provided 27% reservation to OBCs in government jobs as well as in educational institutions-a welfare measure upheld by the Honourable Supreme Court. However, even nearly thirty years of implementation of said reservations, it is difficult to decipher why Government of Odisha is not providing any such reservations to OBCs in public employment or in educational institutions and to SEBCs in educational institutions,” he wrote.
Dharmendra further said OBCs and SEBCs constitute a considerable portion of the total population in Odisha with more than 209 communities identified as SEBCs. They have been traditionally deprived of resources- many of them suffering the twin curse of poverty and illiteracy, he added.
The Union Minister also urged the Chief Minister to take immediate steps to mandate a Backward Classes Commission to undertake a scientific and quantifiable study of the SEBCs in Odisha and explore options for a higher percentage reservation in Odisha given its unique demography.
