Chhattisgarh hikes quota for OBCs, SCs

Bhopal: The Chhattisgarh government on Thursday announced an increase in the reservation for the other backward classes (OBCs) and Scheduled Castes (SCs) in government jobs and education.

During the state-level Independence Day parade in Raipur, chief minister Bhupesh Baghel said that an “elephant reserve” would be set up in the state to provide the tuskers with a permanent habitat and prevent human-animal conflicts.

He also announced the creation of a new district — Guerala-Pendra-Marwahi — carved out of Bilaspur district, taking the total number of districts in Chhattisgarh to 28.

Addressing people at the police parade ground hereafter hoisting the national flag, Mr Baghel said that the reservation for OBCs and the SCs would be raised to 27 per cent and 13 per cent respectively.

With this, the total reservation has gone up to 72 per cent, which is beyond the admissible quota of 50 per cent fixed by the Supreme Court.

Till now, the OBCs and SCs were getting 14 per cent and 12 per cent reservation, respectively, in educational institutions and government jobs in the state, while the STs had 32 per cent quota, an official said.

“The quotas for the SC and the OBC have been revised according to their respective populations in the state,” an official spokesman of Chhattisgarh government told this newspaper.

The chief minister also declared that a provision of `10,000 per month would be made to each cow shelter in Chhattisgarh.

The chief minister also announced to develop Lemru forest area in Korba district as an elephant reserve to deal with the increasing man-animal conflicts in the state’s Northern part.