Banthia panel submits report to govt on OBC empirical data

The five-member Banthia commission – a dedicated panel looking into reservation of Other Backward Classes (OBCs) in local bodies – on Saturday submitted its report on empirical data gathered on the backwardness of the community to Chief Secretary Manukumar Srivastava.

The commission, with the help of the state rural development department, compiled the data, which is essential in ascertaining the population of OBCs and accordingly determining their quota in local bodies.

Led by former chief secretary Jayant Banthia, the commission was set up after the Supreme Court rejected the Maharashtra State Backward Classes Commission’s interim report recommending restoring up to 27 per cent OBC quota in local bodies, stating that it was “prepared in absence of empirical study and research.” The case is set to come up for hearing in Supreme Court on July 12.