Maharashtra confims reservation for Marathas, to be implemented from December 1

Mumbai: Maharashtra government on Thursday confirmed the reservation for Maratha community in government jobs and in admissions in academic institutions from December 1.

The Marathas will get 16 per cent reservation, as suggested by Maharashtra State Backward Classes Commission. 

The commission had submitted its report on social and economic conditions of the Maratha community to state Chief Secretary D K Jain on Thursday. The report made favourable recommendations on the demands of the Maratha community for reservation in government jobs and educational institutions, without disturbing the quota granted to Other Backward Classes (OBC), said news agency PTI.

Later, confirming the reservation quota, state Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said, “There is a good news that we have received a report on Maratha reservation from the Backward Commission today."

"We will complete all legal formalities in the month of November itself and the Maratha reservation will be announced soon. I request everyone to stop protesting and celebrate on December 1," said the Chief Minister.

"This is not an issue of taking credit. Everyone should come together and see how we can do better for the entire community. We assure that there will be no changes in the present reservation policy for other classes. The SC, ST, OBC, and VJNT will be untouched, while we grant reservation to the Maratha community too," assured Fadnavis.

A government source said the Maharashtra State Backward Classes Commission went through two lakh memorandums submitted to it, surveys of about 45,000 families as well as empirical data on the social, financial and educational backwardness of the Maratha community.

The panel is headed by Justice N G Gaikwad (retired).

A senior cabinet minister of the BJP said the party cannot afford to lose their core base, the OBCs, ahead of the Lok Sabha and state Assembly polls next year.

"The government has to provide the Maratha community 16 per cent reservation. We cannot go below that. However currently, 52 per cent quota is in place. Therefore, the total reservation will go up to 68 per cent," the minister said.

In July this year, the government had announced 16 per cent reservation for the Marathas in 72,000 government jobs which were later stayed following protests.

On June 25, 2014, months before the assembly polls, the then Congress-NCP government under then chief minister Prithviraj Chavan had announced 16 per cent reservation quota in government jobs and in educational institutions for Marathas and five per cent quotas for the Muslim community.

However, on November 14, 2014, the Bombay High Court stayed the government decision and on November 18, 2014, the Supreme Court had declined to vacate the HC stay. 

With agency inputs