Telangana Governor Seeks Legal Advice on BC Reservation Ordinance

Hyderabad: Telangana Governor Seeks Legal Advice: Governor Jishnu Dev Verma has reportedly sought legal advice on the BC Reservations Ordinance.

The BC Reservation Bill, which seeks to raise the reservation for backward classes in local bodies from the current 29 percent to 42 percent, was approved by the Assembly on March 17. Subsequently, it was forwarded to Parliament for enactment, although there may be potential delays in that process.

Nevertheless, the State government is prepared to introduce an ordinance concerning these reservations after the Telangana High Court mandated that local elections be conducted by September 30.

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While the BC Reservation Bill has already been submitted to the Governor, he has yet to give his approval and is currently seeking legal advice on the matter. Given this situation, it is possible that the approval of the ordinance may be further delayed.

The proposed legislation will increase the overall reservation in the state from the Supreme Court’s capped limit of 50 percent to 67 percent. This allocation includes 42 percent for Backward Classes (BCs), 18 percent for Scheduled Castes (SCs), and 10 percent for Scheduled Tribes (STs).

The Governor is currently examining the legal implications of surpassing the 50 percent reservation threshold.            

However, in the wake of the previous Supreme Court ruling that directed the Governors to approve the bills within a month or send them back to the Legislative Assembly, the Governor will have to take a decision soon.

If this bill is sent to the President, it will become the third bill from Telangana pending with the Rashtrapati Bhavan. If this bill is passed, 42 percent reservation for BCs in local body elections will be implemented.