The Uttarakhand government has received a crucial report on the reservation of Other Backward Classes (OBC) in the state’s 7,499 gram panchayats. On Thursday, B.S. Verma, chairman of the dedicated one-member commission, submitted the report to Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami.
Reservation Process and Recommendations
The commission conducted an extensive study across 12 districts to determine the OBC reservation in panchayats. Earlier, on August 14, 2022, the first report was submitted for Haridwar district. Based on the 2011 Census, the commission has recommended that panchayats with a higher OBC population should have a proportional increase in reservation percentage.
Panchayat Elections and Current Status
The tenure of gram panchayats in 12 districts, excluding Haridwar, ended on November 27, 2023. Similarly, the terms of district and block panchayats have also expired. Currently, administrators are overseeing all gram panchayats until the government makes a final decision based on the report.
