Congress government in Telangana has declared that it will establish a single member judicial commission to examine the sub-categorisation of Scheduled Castes (SC) issue. The cabinet sub-committee, led by Uttam Kumar Reddy, the minister of irrigation and civil supplies, has agreed to propose the formation of a single-member judicial commission for sub-classification to the Telangana government.
The government has opted to form a commission headed by a retired judge from either the Supreme Court or a high court to investigate the underdevelopment within scheduled caste communities. Minister Uttam Kumar Reddy stated in a meeting that the process must be legally valid and able to endure judicial examination.
The Supreme Court supported the sub-categorisation of the Scheduled Castes on August 1, and the Telangana government also agreed to follow through with it. A couple of months ago, the State government set up a cabinet committee to discuss sub-categorisation issue, which has already had three meetings and decided to utilize 2011 census information for sub-classification.
Meanwhile, officials stated that the advocate general has provided the preliminary terms of reference for appointing the judicial commission. Multiple recruitment boards in Telangana, such as TGPSC, TGLPRB, SCCL and TGTRANSCO, have been instructed to provide information on the employment of SCs based on their sub-castes. Approximately 30% of the necessary data from the finance department has been collected, as informed by officials to the committee members.
Currently, the sub-committee has received 1,082 submissions from communities, organizations, and individuals regarding sub-categorization. Teams from Telangana went to Punjab and Tamil Nadu to observe how sub-classification was being implemented in those states, with a trip to Haryana delayed because of the model code of conduct.
The research team, who travelled to Tamil Nadu in the month of September, reported that the state offers 18% reservation for SCs in both education and employment. That state has a total of 76 SC sub-castes.
Cabinet sub-committee members Dhanasari Anasuya AKA Seethakka and Damodar Rajanarasimha said there should be a time-bound process for the study, and the committee should visit some districts to interact with people and seek their opinions and suggestions.
