A parliamentary committee has come down heavily on the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment for not taking steps to strengthen and empower the National Commission for Backward Classes so that it could be on a par with similar panels for SCs and STs.
In its fifth report on review of welfare measures for OBCs and granting of constitutional status to NCBC, the Committee on Welfare of Other Backward Classes has called for the setting up of a separate department for welfare of OBCs under the ministry even as it expressed disappointment with the action taken in this regard.
The panel held that although OBCs constituted 52 per cent of the country's population, 72.5 per cent of the ministry's budget was allocated for the welfare of SCs. Only 21 per cent of its outlay was earmarked for OBC welfare, it said.
"The committee further recommends to the ministry that it amend the Constitution suitably in order to further strengthen ... NCBC.
"However, the committee is saddened to find that the ministry has not moved a single step forward since their last reply in July, 2013.
"The committee is left with no other option but to reiterate its recommendation that the ministry should bring amendments to the Constitution without further delay in order to strengthen and empower the NCBC.
The ministry should, "delete Section 10 of Article 338 and insert a new Article 338B for NCBC on the same pattern as NCSC and NCST," the committee held.
Expressing disappointment over the ministry's inaction in establishing a separate department for the welfare of OBCs, the panel held that the need for one was only reinforced by the existence of a separate backward classes bureau, the National Commission for Backward Classes (NCBC) and the National Backward Classes Finance and Development Corporation.
The committee also sought raising of the income ceiling from Rs 44,500 to Rs 2 lakh per year for parents/guardians of OBC students who are eligible to apply for benefits under the pre-matric scholarship scheme to bring it on a par with a similar scheme for SCs.
