Cabinet nod to quota Bill

No decision on 'creamy layer' yet.

A terse two-line statement after a prolonged emergency meeting of the Union Cabinet indicated the extent of scrutiny that went into the divisions in the government over the Bill to reserve seats for other backward classes (OBCs).

The contentious issue of reservations for the privileged among those from the OBCs "" the so-called creamy layer "" was put off until the Bill reached the standing committee.

The meeting of the Cabinet had a single-point agenda "" to clear the Bill ensuring 27 per cent reservation for OBCs in government-aided institutes of higher education for which the draft legislation was prepared by the HRD ministry.

The Bill was prepared on the basis of the recommendations of an Oversight Committee headed by former Karnataka chief minister and senior Congress leader Veerappa Moily. It covers institutions like Indian Institutes of Technology and Indian Institutes of Management.

It took almost three hours for the Bill to be cleared: the cabinet saw clause by clause discussion on the reservations scheme during which it was decided that institutions that don't have enough seats to ensure adequate reservations from 2007 will be given three years to create these seats.

However, which institution will see reservation will be decided by the ministries that run these institutions. For example, it is not possible to have reservations in the National Defence Academy or other institutions that award D Litt degrees.

According to a minister, there was a lot of discussion on the issue of creamy layer "" children of socially backward but affluent parents, one or both of whom had already availed of reservation benefits. The Bill, as drafted by the HRD ministry, had the provision to include this group in the new reservation scheme.

But the Cabinet was divided. Although the general feeling was that this class should not be given reservation, the argument was that initially it would not be possible to find enough students to fill the enhanced seats.

It is possible that the creamy layer could also gain admission to institutions of higher education via reservation. However, the standing committee will decide this.

The Bill will come before Parliament on August 25 and will immediately be referred to the standing committee.