Mumbai, Sep 3: The Maharashtra government on Wednesday set up a nine-member cabinet sub-committee to expedite the welfare measures for the Other Backward Classes (OBCs) and resolve issues related to reservation.
Hunger Strike Resolution
The move came a day after activist Manoj Jarange called off his five-day-long hunger strike in Mumbai with the state government accepting most of his demands, including granting eligible Marathas Kunbi caste certificates, which will make them eligible for reservation benefits available to the OBCs.
Committee Leadership
The decision to set up such a committee was made in the cabinet meeting last week and was approved on Wednesday. The committee will be headed by Revenue Minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule.
The state already has a separate ministry for OBC welfare, which is currently headed by a BJP cabinet member.
The cabinet sub-committee has four BJP ministers and two ministers each belonging to the Shiv Sena and the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), the government said.
Members Listed in GR
The Government Resolution (GR) issued after the cabinet meeting said Chhagan Bhujbal, Dattatrey Bharne (NCP), Sanjay Rathod, Gulabrao Patil (Shiv Sena) and Ganesh Naik, Pankaja Munde, Atul Save (BJP) are the members which is headed by Bawankule also from the BJP, it said.
The OBC department's secretary will be the member secretary of the committee.
Committee Functions
The cabinet sub-committee will work to expedite welfare measures for the community and scrutinise various schemes of the government meant for welfare of OBCs and recommend changes. It will also verify if OBCs are given adequate representation in government jobs.
The committee has also been authorised to talk to agitators from OBC organisations and their delegations, it said.
Historical Context
A cabinet sub-committee on Marathas was formed in 2022 after the Supreme Court struck down a 2018 law granting quota to the community as unconstitutional as the legislation breached the 50 per cent ceiling set by the apex court in 1992.
OBC leaders and organisations have been opposing the possible inclusion of Marathas in the OBC category for reservation purposes.
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Kunbi Certificate Committee
On Tuesday, the government announced the formation of a committee to issue Kunbi caste certificates to Maratha community members with historical evidence of their Kunbi heritage, a social group classified as an OBC in the state.
The Kunbi is a traditional farming community in the state and they have been included in the list of OBC category in Maharashtra in order to make them eligible for government reservations in jobs and education.
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