UNDOUBTEDLY “FARMERS” ‘FACING BRUNT OF AGRARIAN
CRISIS’ AND PERHAPS ALSO “SOME OTHER” ‘FACING ACUTE ECONOMIC CONSTRAINTS’
URGENTLY NEED RESERVATION. WOULD EXISTING FRAMEWORK OF CREAMY LAYER ALLOW EVEN
A NANO DROP TO PERCOLATE DOWN TO THEM?
(1) In terms of prevailing
Central and Haryana State OBC creamy layer criteria, the present income ceiling
of Rs 6 Lakh pertains to income of the parents of the applicants from ‘other
sources’. The salary from private, public and government sectors and
also agriculture income of such parents shall not be added to their income from
“other sources“. Meaning thereby, it is confined to ‘income from business and
profession’. (Pertinent to mention herein that as per the Government of India,
poverty line for the urban areas is Rs. 296 per month and for rural areas Rs.
276 per month).
(2) Moreover, the creamy
layer status of applicant is determined on the basis of the status of his
parents and not on the basis of his own status or income or on the basis of
status or income of his/her spouse. Therefore while determining the creamy
layer status of a person the status or the income of the candidate himself or
of his/her spouse shall not be taken into account.
(3) Children of parents possessing
wealth above the exemption limit as prescribed in the Wealth Tax Act for a
period of three consecutive years are considered in creamy layer and hence
excluded from benefit of reservation.
(4) Where the husband is in
some profession e.g. advocate, CA, doctor etc and the wife is in a Class
II or lower grade employment, the income/wealth test will apply only on the
basis of the husband’s income. If the wife is in any profession and the husband
is in employment in a Class II or lower rank post, then the income/wealth
criterion will apply only on the basis of the wife’s income and the husband’s
income will not be clubbed with it.
(5) It is also notable that
while the “creamy layer“criteria of automatic disqualification for the
applicants whose either of the parents is a direct recruit or a promotee not
beyond the age of 40 year in Group A or both parents are in Group B
of the government services also applies to those holding
“equivalent or comparable posts“in Universities, PSUs, Banks, Insurance, other allied
organizations and Private sector. Pending such evaluation of the posts on
equivalent or comparable basis they will be governed by Income/wealth criteria
(income from salary and agriculture not to be taken into account). However,
it is worth mentioning that no comparative evaluation of such posts has been
done till date.
(6) Children of parents
either or both of whom is or are in the rank of Colonel and above in the army
and to equivalent posts in the Navy and the Air Force and the Para Military
Forces find place in creamy layer.
(7) In Central OBC quota,
only those applicants will be treated in creamy-layer whose parents are
having irrigated land which is equal to or more than 85% of the statuary
ceiling area and the rule of exclusion will not apply if the land holding of a
family is exclusively un- irrigated. In Haryana, there is no qualifying
limit of 85%. Moreover, relevant land ceiling law in Haryana provides for
different land ceiling limit qua irrigated land, un-irrigated land and in
case of mix of irrigated & un-irrigated land ranging from about 25
acres to 55 acres. Statutory Ceiling on land holding varies in
different States.
NOTE:
1.
Existing
OBC creamy layer criteria (Rule of Exclusion) is too phoney to allow any
noticeable benefit of reservation to percolate down to the small farmers stuck
up in unending agrarian crisis in Haryana and rest of India – one of the most
needy segment of the society that deserves the benefit of reservation. Moreover, present
OBC creamy layer criteria are parent specific. Needless to say that
possible wrong inclusions/retentions cannot be the basis for further wrong
inclusions. The time has come to open the gate of OBC list to make graceful
exit of relatively resourceful ones and to permit entry of the most distressed
like small farmers, small traders, industrial workers, farm labourers etc irrespective
of caste and religion.
2.
However,
reportedly in Haryana the children of those who have a gross annual income of
up to Rs three lakh would get the first preference as far as the benefits of
reservation in services and admission in educational institutions are
concerned. Thereafter, the remaining quota seats, if any, would go to those in
the Backward Classes category who earn between Rs three lakh and Rs six lakh
per annum AS EXPLAINED ABOVE.
3.
It
is worth mention that ANNUAL INCOME CRITERIA FOR ECONOMICALLY BACKWARD PERSONS
IN GENERAL CASTES CATEGORY in Haryana pegging the income ceiling at Rs 2.5 Lakh
is “family specific” and includes income from “all sources” eg. salary
(private, public, government sectors), agriculture business, profession etc. "Family" means applicant, Head of
the family and his/her spouse, Dependent children and their spouses,
unmarried dependent brothers and sisters. In case any person
in the family, as described above, is income-tax/wealth tax payee, benefit
of reservation shall not be extended. Applicant or family as described above
should not be in Class-I/Class-II services of Government of India or State
Government level or equivalent or hold any equivalent post in any statutory
board/corporation /University/ society/trust or an equivalent position in any public/private
limited company or in any International organization. In case, family as
described above, is engaged in a profession as doctor, lawyer, chartered accountant,
income –tax consultant, financial or management consultant, engineer,
architect, computer specialist, film/TV artist, play write, author, model,
media personnel or holds any elected/appointed office either under the
Constitution or in terms of any statute out of which emolument/salary is
paid, the total annual income of the family of the applicant should not
cumulatively exceed Rs.2,50,000/- per annum from all sources. The relevant
notification is silent on what will happen pending such evaluation of the posts
on equivalent or comparable basis. Family, as described above, should not
be employed in any Military or para-Military services with Union of India
in the rank of Second Lieutenant or above in the Army or any equivalent rank
in other forces of para-Military forces.
Related write-ups:
http://rajkhushiniti.blogspot.in/2016/02/need-to-re-work-extant-system-of.html
http://rajkhushiniti.blogspot.in/2016/04/reservation-at-gun-point-violence-pays.html
http://rajkhushiniti.blogspot.in/2016/03/all-appeasement-no-celebration.html
Posts
5 comments:
1/2
Press Information Bureau
Government of India
Cabinet
30-August-2017 14:50 IST
Cabinet approves equivalence of posts in Central Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs), Banks, Insurance Institutions with Posts in Government so that the children of those serving in lower categories in PSUs and other institutions can get the benefit of OBC reservations
The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has given its approval to the norms for establishing equivalence of posts in Government and posts in PSUs, PSBs etc. for claiming benefit of OBC reservations. This addresses an issue pending for nearly 24 years. This will ensure that the children of those serving in lower categories in PSUs and other institutions can get the benefit of OBC reservations, on par with children of people serving in lower categories in Government. This will also prevent children of those in senior positions in such institutions, who, owing to absence of equivalence of posts, may have been treated as non Creamy Layer by virtue of wrong interpretation of income standards from cornering government posts reserved for OBCs and denying the genuine non creamy layer candidates a level playing field.
The Union Cabinet also approved the increase in the present income criterion of Rs. 6 lakh per annum for applying the Creamy Layer restriction throughout the country, for excluding Socially Advanced Persons/Sections (Creamy Layer) from the purview of reservation of Other Backward Classes (OBCs). The new income criterion will be Rs. 8 lakh per annum. The increase in the income limit to exclude the Creamy Layer is in keeping with the increase in the Consumer Price Index and will enable more persons to take advantage of reservation benefits extended to OBCs in government services and admission to central educational institutions.
These measures are a part of the Government's efforts to ensure greater social justice and inclusion for members of the Other Backward Classes. The Government has already introduced in Parliament, a bill to provide Constitutional status to the National Commission for Backward Classes. It has also decided to set up a Commission, under section 340 of the Constitution, to sub categorize the OBCs, so that the more backward among the OBC communities can also access the benefits of reservation for educational institutions and government jobs. All these decisions, taken together, are expected to ensure greater representation of OBCs in educational institutions and jobs, while also ensuring that the more under-privileged within the category are not denied their chance of social mobility.
2/2
Background:
In its judgment dated 16.11.1992 in WP(C) 930/1990 (IndraSawhney case) the Supreme Court had directed the Government to specify the basis, for exclusion of socially and economically advanced persons from Other Backward Classes by applying the relevant and requisite socio-economic criteria.
An Expert Committee was constituted in February 1993 which submitted its report on 10.03.1993 specifying the criteria for identification of socially advanced persons among OBCs i.e. the Creamy Layer. The report was accepted by the then Ministry of Welfare and forwarded to DoPT which issued an OM dated 08.09.1993 on exclusion from the Creamy Layer.
The OM of 08.09.1993 specifies six categories for identifying Creamy Layer (a) Constitutional/Statutory post (b) Group ‘A’ and Group ‘B’ Officers of Central and State Governments, employees of PSUs and Statutory bodies, universities, (c) Colonel and above in armed forces and equivalent in paramilitary forces (d) professionals like Doctors, Lawyers, Management Consultants, Engineers etc. (e) Property owners with agricultural holdings or vacant land and/or buildings and (f) income/wealth tax asessee.
The OM further stipulates that the said parameters would apply mutatis mutandis to officers holding equivalent or comparable posts in PSUs, Banks, Insurance Organizations, Universities, etc. and Government was required to determine equivalence of positions in these organizations with those in Government.
Pending the equivalence to the established in these institutions Income criteria would apply for the officers in these Institutions.
However, this exercise of determining the equivalence of posts in Government and posts in PSUs, PSBs etc. had not been initiated. The determination of equivalence of posts has been thus pending for almost 24 years.
The matter of formulating equivalence has since been examined in detail. In PSUs, all Executive level posts i.e. Board level executives and managerial level posts would be treated as equivalent to group 'A' posts in Government and will be considered Creamy Layer. Junior Management Grade Scale–1 and above of Public Sector Banks, Financial Institutions and Public Sector Insurance Corporations will be treated as equivalent to Group 'A' in the Government of India and considered as Creamy Layer. For Clerks and Peons in PSBs, FIs and PSICs, the Income Test as revised from time to time will be applicable. These are the broad guidelines and each individual Bank, PSU, Insurance Company would place the matter before their respective board to identify individual posts.
½ Jat reservation: Punjab & Haryana HC upholds quota provision, refers matter to Backward Class panel
The Punjab and Haryana High Court on Friday upheld the provisions specified under the Haryana Backward Classes (Reservation in Services and Admission in Educational Institutions) Act 2016, which ensures 10 per cent quota to six communities, including Jats. The reservation, however, has been kept in abeyance and the case has been referred to the Backward Class Commission which has been asked to prepare a report on the percentage of quota.
In February 2016, the state saw violent protests by the Jat community demanding quota in jobs and educational institutions which brought Haryana to a halt. The agitation left many dead, injured many others.
The Haryana Assembly passed the Act in March 2016, carving out a new BC (C) category which included the communities of Jat, Jat Sikh, Muslim-Jat, Bishnoi, Ror and Tyagi. The Act provisioned for reservations to these.
2/2
More than a year after the constitutional validity of an Act providing reservation to Jats and five other communities under the newly created BC (C) category was challenged, the Punjab and Haryana High Court on Friday directed that it would be kept in abeyance till March 31, 2018.
Sending the matter back to the Backward Classes Commission, the Bench of Justice Surinder Singh Saron and Justice Lisa Gill asked it file its report by then.
Pronouncing the order in an open court in the afternoon, the Bench directed the collection of quantifiable data till November 30. Objections to the data would be collected and uploaded on the commission website till December 31 before the completion of the remaining process.
The direction came on petitions filed by Murari Lal Gupta challenging the constitutional validity of the Haryana Backward Classes (Reservation in Services and Admission in Educational Institutions), Act, 2016.
‘The Haryana Backward Classes (Reservation in Services and Admission in Educational Institutions) Bill, 2016’ was passed unanimously by the Haryana Assembly on March 29, 2016. It was notified in the official gazette on May 12, 2016, by the state government.
Five other communities--Jat Sikh, Mulla Jat/Muslim Jat, Bishnoi, Ror and Tyagi--were to be entitled to get 10 per cent reservation in government services and admission in educational institutes. On May 26, 2016, the Bench headed by Justice Saron had stayed the reservation, while taking up a public interest litigation.
Justifying quota for Jat and five other communities, the State of Haryana had claimed that the High Court could examine the decision’s validity only under exceptional circumstances.
The State argued that the Supreme Court had set aside the Central government’s notification providing OBC quota for the Jat community, but it was not related to reservation to the Jat community under the state quota.
In his petition, Gupta had earlier sought directions for quashing the block ‘C’ of the Act providing reservation to Jat community under a newly carved BC (C) category.
Counsel for Kumhar Maha Sabha Vijay Kumar Jindal submitted that reservation to Jat community was provided under the new Act on the basis of Justice KC Gupta Commission report, which had already been quashed by the Supreme Court.
He stated that reservation on the basis of the Justice Gupta Commission report would tantamount to revision of a judicial order, which could not be done by the legislature.
He further submitted that in 2014 also the state government had introduced a bill to include Jats in the list of other backward classes for reservation in job and educational institutes. But, the Supreme Court in case of Ram Singh and others versus the Union of India had held that Jats were not backward socially, educationally and politically.
The Haryana State Government has issued notification dated 17.08.2016 in exercise of powers conferred by Section 2 (d) of the 2016 Act which reads as under:-
“Notification The 17th August, 2016 No. 808-SW (1).- In exercise of the powers conferred by clause (d) of Section 2 of the Haryana Backward Classes (Reservation in Service and Admission in Educational Institutions) Act, 2016 (15 of 2016), the Governor of Haryana hereby specify the following criteria for exclusion of creamy layer within the Backward Classes as per the Schedules appended to the Act, namely Schedule I, II & III. The children of persons having gross annual income of upto Three Lakh rupees shall first of all get the benefit of reservation in services and admission in educational institutions. The left out quota shall go to that class of Backward Classes of citizens who earn more than Three Lakh rupees but upto Six Lakh rupees per annum. The sections of the Backward Classes earning above Six Lakh rupees per annum shall be considered as Creamy Layer under Section 5 of the said Act. T.C. Gupta, Principal Secretary to Government Haryana Welfare of Scheduled Castes and Backward Classes Department.”
(As set-out in the judgment by Chandigarh High Court on 1ST September in CWP No. 9931of 2016 (O&M) - Murari Lal Versus State of Haryana and others)
Post a Comment