CM Nitish Kumar Proposes To Increase Caste Based Reservation In Bihar To 65%

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar announced on Tuesday that he plans to increase caste-based reservations in the state to 65 per cent, which is up from the Supreme Court’s order of a maximum 50 per cent reservation quota. He said that the proposed reservation would cover people belonging to Schedule Castes (ST), Scheduled Tribes (ST) and Other Backward Classes (OBC).   

The announcement came after the state government released the detailed report of the Bihar caste survey which revealed the various sections of the society. According to the report, 42.70 per cent of families in the ST category and 42.93 per cent of families in the SC category are economically disadvantaged in Bihar.

CM Nitish Kumar said he was in favour of raising the quotas for the SCs and STs from 17 per cent to 22 per cent and plans to raise the reservation for Other Backward Classes and the Extremely Backward Classes to 43 per cent. A proposal has also been made to combine an additional 10% for the economically weaker sections (EWS) which will raise the reservation quota in the state to 75 per cent.

“We will do the needful after due consultations. It is our intent to effect these changes in the current session,” CM Kumar said on Tuesday while speaking at the state assembly, adding that he will consult with the stakeholders and implement the changes during the current session of the assembly.

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The chief minister also stated the caste survey was conducted to ensure social justice and empowerment of the marginalised groups. He also urged the Centre to conduct a similar survey at the national level.