Nitish favours hike in SC, ST and OBC quotas; legislation likely in Assembly

PATNA, Nov 7: Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Tuesday announced his intent to raise quotas for Other Backward Classes, Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in the state, saying a legislation to the effect is likely to be brought in the ongoing assembly session.
The announcement, which was much anticipated in the wake of his government’s ambitious caste survey, was made on the floor of the House during a debate that followed tabling of the report.
“The quota for SCs and STs together stands at 17 per cent. It should be raised to 22 per cent. Likewise, the reservation for OBCs should also be hiked from the current 50 per cent to 65 per cent,” Kumar said.
The Supreme Court has earlier capped the quota in jobs etc., at 50 per cent.
According to the survey report, OBCs, including the extremely backward classes sub-group, accounted for a whopping 63 per cent of the state’s total population, while SCs and STs together were slightly over 21 per cent.
The report said more than a third of families in Bihar are live on a monthly income of Rs 6,000 or less, while the percentage of SC-ST families living on similar income is nearly 43 per cent.
“We will do the needful after due consultations. We intend to bring in the required legislation in the ongoing session,” Kumar said on the second day of the five-day-long winter session.
He said that his government is planning to provide an assistance of Rs two lakh each to the 94 lakh poor families.
These live on less than Rs 6,000 a month for taking up some form of economically productive work. (PTI)