Shivani Gadhavi
Published On: December 25, 2021 at 16:30 IST
The Odisha State Government Cabinet on December 24, 2021 gave its approval for the amendment in provisions of the Odisha Municipal Act, 1950 and Odisha Municipal Corporation Act, 2003 pertaining to reservation of seats for the Backward Class Citizens (BCCs) for the position of Chairperson/Mayor.
The Odisha Municipal Act and the Odisha Municipal Corporation Act provide for reservation of seats for Backward Class Citizens (BCCs) in elections for Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) upto 27 per cent and Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in proportion of their population.
The move complies with the December 17, 2021 decision of the Supreme Court of India, which struck down the reservation for the BCCs in the States of Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra. The Order of the Supreme Court directed the two States to follow the ‘triple test’ procedure, which is prerequisite before allotting reservation seats for the BCCs.
The Triple Test gives out norms for setting up of commission which would conduct an inquiry into the nature and implications of the backwardness and specify the proportion of reservation local-body wise. This would ensure that reservation would not exceed 50 per cent in total of including OBCs, SCs and STs.
The opposition party Bhartiya Janata Party’s senior leader and Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan opposed the move and stated, “The anti-OBC face of the Odisha Government is evident from its lack of iron will in implementing the reservation, quota for OBCs in local body elections.”
