Bihar

• 20 Oct 2022

Bihar sets up Commission for Most Backward Classes

Why In News?

• On October 19, 2022, the state government constituted the Most Backward Classes Commission under the chairmanship of senior JD(U) leader Dr Navin Chandra Arya. This commission will recommend reservation for the most backward in the civic elections as per the guidelines of the Supreme Court.

Key Point

• The other members of the commission are Arvind Nishad, Vinod Bhagat, Gyanchandra Patel and Tarkeshwar Thakur. The commission was first set up in 2006. The commission has been given a maximum of three months to submit its report.
• On October 19, the state government had filed an affidavit in the Patna High Court stating that it would prepare a detailed report after getting the situation of the MOST backward classes commission (EBC commission) assessed. After this decision of the state government, the High Court's decision of October 4 remained the same.
• This case was placed during the hearing of the review petition filed by the state government, which was accepted by the court. The High Court made it clear that the civic elections in Bihar will be held after the EBC Commission report comes.
• For this, the Bihar EBC Commission, which came into existence in 2005, has been revived as a dedicated commission. The Commission will soon submit its report after collecting data on political backwardness of the most backward. Only after perusing the report will the State Election Commission notify the civic polls in Bihar.
• It is noteworthy that the Supreme Court has clearly said in its order that reservation can be given to backward classes in local body elections only if the government conducts triple tests. The government should find out which section is not getting adequate political representation.