Hyderabad, May 20: Despite the orders of the Supreme Court that reservation for weaker sections should not exceed 50 per cent, the state government has decided against reduction in BC reservations in the ensuing local bodies elections.
At a press conference held at the Secretariat here on Thursday, Transport minister Botsa Satyanarayana along with BC Welfare minister Basava Saraiah said the state government will stick to the existing reservation quota, which is more than 55 percent, in the local bodies elections.
There would be 33 per cent reservation for BCs, 15 percent for Scheduled Castes (SCs) and 7.5 percent for Scheduled Tribes (STs) which adds up to more than 55 per cent.
“If any legal hurdles arise due to this, the state government would not hesitate to file a review petition in the Supreme Court as it is committed to hold the elections,” Satyanarayana said.
Besides this, government will also hold discussions with office bearers of BC Welfare Associations on the Supreme Court orders on the BC quota issue, he added.
The minister added that the government has issued orders to extend concessions with regard to reservations for BCs in services and educational institutions for a period of 10 years.
In May 2001, the government had extended the concessions for the BCs till the end of May, 2011 with respect to reservations in educational institutions and services including the percentage of reservations and age concession of five years for the purpose of recruitment.
The extension would come into effect from June 1 this year and will be subject to the revision of lists of BCs that may be suggested by the Andhra Pradesh Commission for Backward Classes after conducting the necessary Social, Educational and Economic Survey of Backward Classes.
–Agencies