The Nitish Kumar-led Bihar cabinet on Tuesday cleared a proposal to increase reservation in the state to 75 per cent from the existing 60 per cent (including 10 per cent quota for Economically Weaker Sections). The approval late Tuesday evening came just hours after the Chief Minister announced his intent to increase the existing cap on quota following the tabling of the Bihar caste survey report in the state Assembly and the Legislative Council.
Besides the increase in reservation, the Cabinet also approved a monetary assistance of Rs 2 lakh to each of the 94 lakh poor families — whose income has been found to be Rs 6,000 per month or less in the caste survey — for a period of five years. A one-time financial assistance of Rs 1 lakh was also approved for 67 lakh landless families to raise homes. The monetary measures approved by the Cabinet are likely to put an additional annual burden of Rs 50,000 crore on the state excehequer.
Speaking in the state Assembly during a discussion on the Bihar caste survey report, Kumar said that he intends to raise quotas for Other Backward Classes, Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in the state. Kumar said that the quota for SCs and STs, which cumulatively stands at 17 per cent, should be raised to 22 per cent while the quota for OBCs should be increased from the prevailing 50 per cent to 65 per cent.
However, the proposed Bill is likely to provide for 18 per cent quota to OBCs, 25 per cent to EBCs, 20 per cent to scheduled caste (SC) and two per cent to scheduled tribes (ST) besides the existing 10 per cent EWS quota. Current provisions lay down 50 per cent quota in the states – 14 per cent to SC, 10 per cent to ST, 12 per cent to EBC, 8 per cent to OBC and 3 per cent each to women and the poor among the general category. The inclusion of 10 per cent EWS quota takes the reservation to 60 per cent.
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Government sources say that following the cabinet nod, a Bill to increase reservation is likely to be introduced during the ongoing five-day session of the Bihar Assembly. “Since the CM had hinted towards an increase in quota, a draft of the Reservation Bill, 2023, is being readied with advice of legal and constitutional expert,” The Indian Express quoted a government source as saying.
Addressing the state Assembly on Tuesday, Kumar said, “As OBC and EBC population have come to 63 per cent, let us consider 65 per cent quota. As we have been giving 35 per cent reservation to women in government jobs, separate existing quota will have no sense. Likewise, with 10 per cent EWS quota in place, three per cent quota to the poor among general category was irrelevant.”
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The Bihar caste survey, portions of which were made public by the Bihar government on October 2, pegged OBCs, including the Extremely Backward Classes sub-group, at a staggering 63 per cent of the state’s population. SCs and STs, on the other hand, accounted for a little over 21 per cent.
The report further said that over a third of families in Bihar live on a monthly income of Rs 6,000 or less, while the percentage of SC-ST families living on a similar income is nearly 43 per cent.
Kumar also used the opportunity to demand a nationwide caste survey on the lines of the one conducted in Bihar and also renewed his call to the Centre to accord special category status to Bihar.
“We were told the request could not be accepted but states were free to undertake a survey if the need for it was felt strongly. The census, which should have been completed by now, has not yet begun. The Centre can consider a headcount of castes as part of the census,” he said.
