Hyderabad: The Telangana Cabinet here on Saturday met for two hours at Pragathi Bhavan and reportedly given its nod for increasing reservations to Scheduled Tribes and Muslim Minorities with which total number of reservations will be pegged at 62 per cent from 50 per cent.
Chairing the Cabinet meeting, Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao reiterated his commitment to empower these communities lagging behind in every sphere for several decades by taking a key decision to hike the reservations relevantly. According to informed sources, ST reservations will be hiked to 10 per cent from the existing six per cent, Muslim Minorities under BC-E category will get 12 per cent from the existing four per cent. The hike in reservations is based on the population census of 2011. Muslim population is pegged at 12.4 per cent and that of STs is 8.3 per cent.
However, the Assembly has to pass a Bill and send it to the Centre for its approval and for assent of President Pranab Mukherjee. KCR informed his Cabinet colleagues on the need for increasing the reservations to empower them in a phased manner. A related bill is likely to be passed in a special session of Assembly scheduled to be held on April 16 at 10 am. The Cabinet meeting assumes significance as it gives nod to the reservations whose bill is to pass a day later in the Assembly.
Besides reservations, the Cabinet, which discussed about 30 agenda items, also gave its nod to the draft of having it own State Heritage Buildings Act, by replacing the present Act of Heritage which was limited to only Hyderabad city and its buildings.
Other issues the Cabinet prominently discussed include GST Bill, which is to get Assembly nod, to hike DA for the State government employees and pensioners, promotions for over 100 senior police officers, proposed hike in ex gratia payable to fishermen died in accidents from Rs one lakh to Rs 4 lakh.
If the Bill is passed by both Houses of Assembly and Council, reservation pattern will increase from current 50 per cent to 62 per cent and its pattern changes as below – BCs reservations will remain so at 25 per cent, BC-E (Muslim Minorities) reservations will be put at 12 per cent from 4 per cent, SCs will remain same at 15 per cent and STs reservations will rise to 10 per cent from 6 per cent.
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