Cabinet...

The panel report said the Marathas are socially and educationally backward, inadequately represented in government and semi-government jobs, and therefore, eligible for reservation.

“As the Commission has pointed out the prevailing exceptional and extraordinary conditions, it [reservation] is also in accordance with the Supreme Court observations regarding crossing the cap,” chief minister Devendra Fadnavis said.

Fadnavis said the state will not consider including the community under the existing Other Backward Classes (OBC) quota, as this will be “unjust” to both the existing castes in the category and the Marathas.

Currently, Maharashtra has 19% reserved for 346 castes under the OBC category, 8% for 39 tribes under Nomadic Tribes category, 13% and 7% for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes respectively, 3% for Vimukt Jatis, and 2% for Special Backward Classes. The state decision on the reservation to the Maratha community comes without disturbing the existing reservations.

On whether the recent constitutional amendment in the National Commission for Backward Classes (NCBC) will be a hindrance, Fadnavis said, “The amendment has given consulting powers to NCBC, making it mandatory for states to approach it only in policy matters, not in the case of legislative issues.” He added that the state has consulted the Advocate General on the issue.

While the state is yet to decide on the exact amount of reservation, it will range between 15% and 16%, based on the community’s population in the state. A cabinet subcommittee appointed by the government will start discussing the percentage of reservation, the contents of the bill to be introduced in the winter session, and whether to recommend protection under Schedule 9 of the Indian Constitution, which protects the reservation decision from judicial review. “According to the MSCBC report, the Maratha population in the state is 30%. The Narayan Rane committee, which was constituted by the previous Congress-ncp government said in its 2014 report that the population is 32%. Meanwhile, the caste-based survey by the Rural Development Department says Marathas constitute 27% of the population. Based on these figures, reservations could be fixed at 15% or 16%,” said an official close to the developments.

The state is expected to table a bill to amend the Maharashtra Reservation Act 2001 in the upcoming winter session, beginning from Monday. The bill is expected to be passed on November 29 or November 30, following a debate.

The Congress-ncp goverment had given Marathas 16% reservation by passing a bill in July 2014. This, however, was stayed by the Bombay High Court in November that year. The Fadnavis government is likely to bring a fresh bill, amending the Act and then request the HC to dismiss pending cases on reservation.