New Parliamentary Committee on welfare of Other Backward Classes

New Delhi: In a bid to uplift the backward classes, a Parliamentary panel is being constituted which would look into issues related to the welfare of the community.

The Lok Sabha on Wednesday adopted a motion to set up a Committee on Welfare of Other Backward Classes (OBCs).

In a view to gain the political mileage from the OBCs of Uttar Pradesh in the upcoming Assembly elections in 2012, Congress General Secretary Rahul Gandhi has initiated this move. However, this is for the first time that the Congress is playing the ‘backward class card’ for the elections. 

Notably, Union Steel Minister Beni Prasad Verma had been advocating for setting up a different Parliamentary panel for OBCs from quite some time.

The Committee will comprise 30 members, 20 from Lok Sabha and 10 from Rajya Sabha, Parliamentary Affairs Minister P K Bansal said in the lower house. 

The Committee will consider the reports submitted by the National Commission for Backward Classes and report to both the Houses on the measures that should be taken by the Union government within its purview and the Administrations of the Union Territories.

The members of the Committee shall hold office for a period of one year from the date of the first meeting and the quorum to constitute a sitting shall be 10.

Cabinet clears expansion of OBC list

The Union cabinet has approved changes to the list of Other Backward Classes (OBCs), a move that could add nearly a hundred new castes to the category nationwide and make the ongoing caste census easier.

The cabinet on Wednesday also gave its nod to a draft law to curb malpractices in higher education.

OBCs are socially and economically disadvantaged communities entitled to 27% reservation in public sector jobs and higher education. They form around 40% of the national population, according to a 2004-05 National Sample Survey Organisation report. The government changes the OBC list according to the socio-economic upliftment of these communities.

The National Commission for Backward Classes (NCBC) had advised the government to amend the list of OBCs in Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Goa, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Orissa, Sikkim, Tamil Nadu, Uttarakhand and West Bengal, the government said in a statement. “Accordingly, the ministry of social justice and empowerment would make amendments in the central list.”

NCBC member Shakeel-uz-Zaman Ansari said the decision “will help the government move ahead with the categorization of castes under the socio-economic caste-based census which it is working on”.

India’s first census of castes since 1931 is due to be released this year. It is meant to improve the execution of various welfare programmes for disadvantaged groups, particularly a proposed law on food security.

A person familiar with the development said the new list will not only include new castes but also the alternative names of the same castes in various states, as well as spelling corrections of some caste names.

“The number of additions could be as high as 100 (castes),” said this person, asking not to be identified.

“Major changes have happened in Kerala, Maharashtra and West Bengal,” Ansari said. “In West Bengal, the number of OBCs has been expanded. Besides, the lists for OBCs in Jharkhand and Uttarakhand after their bifurcation from Bihar and Uttar Pradesh (respectively) have been updated.”

Analysts said the move could have political overtones.

“The ongoing caste census is facing opposition from several political parties and this move in some way is aimed at neutralizing that criticism. This also expresses willingness at winning new vote base or expanding the existing base,” said Praveen Jha, associate professor at the Centre for Economic Studies and Planning, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi.

“But the political situation in our country is unique and such moves can take any unpredictable direction,” Jha said.

The cabinet also approved amendments suggested by a parliamentary standing committee to a draft law that aims to curtail malpractices in higher education.

The Bill was initially introduced in Parliament in May 2010. It will now be called Prohibition of Unfair Practice in Higher Education Bill, 2011, and be introduced again in the winter session of Parliament, said officials at the human resource development (HRD) ministry.

The Bill proposes punishment for colleges, teachers or institute managements soliciting capitation fee, among other measures. It will cover all institutes of higher education except agricultural universities.

“This Bill is prepared on the assumption that education players are criminals, and anything built on this parameter can never be right,” said a senior administrator of a university in Punjab, asking not to be identified. “Education entrepreneurs are passionate people and it is definitely discouraging as it has provisions to send educationists to jail. It will prevent private investment in education sector.”

An HRD ministry official, however, said a number of complaints about malpractices are being filed, necessitating the move. “Those education entrepreneurs who are clean should not fear at all,” said the official, requesting anonymity.

The cabinet also approved increasing by 50% the outlay of Rs  250 crore under the Prime Minister’s Employment Generation Programme, which helps entrepreneurs setting up of micro-enterprises.

Prithviraj Chavan warns against fake OBCs

Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan said on Sunday attempts to contest from seats reserved for other backward castes(OBCs) by acquiring fake OBC certificates would not be tolerated, adding that strict action would be taken against offenders.

Addressing a rally of OBCs in Pune, organised by MLC Deepti Choudhary, Chavan said those who acquire fake OBC certificates enjoy the benefits while people belonging to the OBCs are deprived of them.

He promised to make more funds available for the OBC Development Authority, adding that provision of Rs190 crore has been made for scholarships for the year 2011-12. The state government is making efforts to extend the annual income limit of non-creamy layer from Rs4.5 lakh to Rs10 lakh, he added.

He said the state government supported OBC reservations in promotions and started a drive to clear the backlog of OBCs in employment.

Minister for social justice and welfare of nomadic denotified tribes and other backward classes, Shivajirao Moghe, said the list of castes included in the OBC tag is going up and it has become difficult to verify OBCs. He expressed concern on the rising number of people taking advantage of OBC facilities with the help of fake certificates.

About setting up a memorial of Mahatma Phule at Bhide Wada in the city, where Phule started the first girls school, Chavan said a property dispute was delaying the decision.“Senior leaders should intervene to settle the dispute, so that a memorial can be constructed,” he said.

Cooperation and parliamentary affairs minister Harshvardhan Patil, Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee president, Manikrao Thakre and minister for forest, Patangrao Kadam were present.

Muslim quota under OBC category: A step towards Social Justice

By M Naushad Ansari

The government is considering reservation to the backward Muslims within the 27 per cent quota in jobs fixed for Other Backward Classes (OBCs) and a decision in this regard will be taken soon, law minister Salman Khurshid said on Thursday.

He said that under the law all reservations can only be on the basis of OBCs. "Indra Sawhney judgment is what we can go by in this regard," he said. Admitting that there were reservations already for backward Muslims, he said the effectiveness of this reservation, which is not happening and to which the Sachar Committee has also pointed out, is to be ensured.

Congress President Sonia Gandhi had reportedly assured a delegation of Muslim leaders in May this year that modalities for providing reservation to Muslims would be worked out in six months. Congress is learnt to be in favour of providing reservations to Muslims on the lines of the quota structure already in place in Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu.

Though many Muslims welcomed this announcement as a step forward in helping marginalised Muslims, some others demanded reservation for the Muslims as a whole. On this Syed Shahabuddin, ex-MP and President of All India Majlis-e-Mushawarat, said: "if caste can be interpreted as a class, why not religion; that all Muslims are, socially and educationally, marginalized and deprived".

When State government of Andhra Pradesh announced reservations for Pasmanda Muslims, Jamia Nizamia of Andhra Pradesh had issued a fatwa against state government's move to provide reservations for Muslims on the lines of castes. However most among the prominent Ulema of the country, cutting across the lines of sects and organisations, had sharply reacted against the fatwa. Maulana Syed Ahmed Bukhari of Jama Masjid, Delhi, had declared that the fatwa will harm the interest of the community.

Taking a different view Prof. Imtiaz Ahmed of JNU says that 'en bloc reservation of Muslims is not a viable idea. Inclusion of Muslim Dalits as OBCs makes the most sense'. The Pasmanda Muslim groups demand caste-based reservation as given in the constitution. They argue that according to Indian constitution religion-based reservation is invalid; that if the reservation will be given to all Muslims, the Ashraf, who have historically been forward in all aspects, would corner the benefits of reservation. If for endogamy and khilafat purpose caste could be the criteria, why not for reservation in jobs?, they asks. They also argue that all Muslims are equally deprived is incorrect. True, by and large, Muslims are deprived and face discrimination, but within the community the state of Pasmanda Muslims is even worst. And, moreover, the creamy class among them were already excluded from the reservation benefits.

Indeed, the existence of caste system and reservation for backward Muslims has always been a controversial issue. Though it is an undisputed fact that there is no caste system in Islam and that the Holy Quran and the Prophet's sayings are crystal clear that all human beings are equal, Indian Muslims did develop a hierarchical structure by characterizing numerous biradaris. Some Muslims established superior status for themselves as Ashraf or ‘noble’, while some indigenous converts are commonly referred as Ajlaf or 'lowly'. Some Islamic jurists too, deviating from Islamic teachings, in the name of kufu; through parity in marriage between the parties often legitimized and encouraged caste system. Muslim law of marriage recognizes the doctrine of kufu in all vital aspects including social status and descent, which in India, means nothing but casteism. Even many scholars consider that 'khilafat' should only remain with the so-called Ashraf Muslims.

On the existence of castes among Indian Muslims the Sachar Committee Report says: “Based on the arguments and data presented, it is logical to suggest that Muslim in India, in terms of their social structure, consist of three groups- A|shrafs, Ajlafs and Arzals. The three groups require different types of affirmative action. The second group, Ajlafs/OBCs, need additional attention which could be similar to that of Hindu-OBCs.' (Page 214)

Similarly, the Justice Ranganath Misra Commission finds prevalence of castes among various sections of the Indian citizenry. It concludes: “The caste is in fact a social phenomenon shared by almost all Indian communities irrespective of their religious persuasions". (Para 16.3)

On the level of backwardness of Pasmanda Muslims, the Sachar committee finds : "Out of every 100 workers about 11 are Hindu OBCs, three are Muslim-general and only one is Muslim OBC" (Page 209), whereas the population of OBC Muslims is as much as 75% of the total Muslim population.

The Sachar Committee's findings further suggests: "the incidence of poverty is highest among Muslim-OBC followed by Muslim General. Overall, the conditions of Muslim-OBCs are worse than those of Muslim-General .Within the Muslim community a larger percentage of Muslim OBCs fall in low income category as compared to Muslim-General." (The Muslim OBCs and Affirmative action)

Likewise, Justice Ranganath Misra Commission recommends that "the caste system should be recognized as a general social characteristic of the Indian society as a whole, without questioning whether the philosophy and teachings of any particular religion recognizes it or not. It further recommends that Para 3 of the Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order 1950 should be completely deleted by appropriate actions, so as to completely de-link the Scheduled Caste status from religion.

Historically, a vast number of backward and dalit Hindus got converted to Islam. But after conversion their socio-economic status remained impoverished and downtrodden. Most of them continued with their traditional professions as artisans, peasants and labourers, except those few which were considered impure or unacceptable in Shariah. Nevertheless, of late, some of these Muslim caste groups got Islamised. They too later became organized and had given themselves Muslim nomenclatures. They identified and associated themselves with Islamic personalities. For example, the butchers designated themselves as Qureshi; the weavers as Ansari; the tailors as Idrisi; the Bhishtis as Abbasi; the vegetable vendors as Raeen; the barbers as Salmani; the carpenters and blacksmiths as Saifi etc. By joining the fold of Islam they did not get such a boost to their talents and abilities that they could face equal competition with all others.

The Constitution prohibits any discrimination between the citizens. Hence, any religion-based discrimination conflicts with the letter and spirit of the provisions. In the famous Indra Sawhney Case the Supreme Court had decided that 'a caste can be and quite often is a social class in India'. Further it conceptualizes: 'If it is backward socially, it would be a backward class for the purpose of Article 16(4). Among non-Hindus, there are several occupational groups, sects and denominations, which for historical reasons are socially backward. They too represent backward social collectives for the purpose of Article 16(4). Identification of the backward classes can certainly be done with reference to castes among, and along with, other occupational groups, classes and section of people. (AIR 582 SC 1993) Reservation in public employment is specifically covered by Article 16(4) of the Constitution, for any backward class of citizens, which are not adequately represented in the services under the State.

Hence, instead of shoving the issue of reservation for Pasmanda Muslims under the carpet, it is the duty of our Ulema and community leaders to realise that this group needs special attention and there should be no roadblock in the way to making their fair share available, for, they are, as suggested by the Sachar Committee report, 'cumulatively oppressed'.

Repeated appeal to the Muslim community to maintain unity in the name of Islam, foregoing the constitutional benefits for OBCs, would not be a wise idea. May be some day in the future reservations will be based solely on community's impoverishment, but until then the caste-based reservation seems to be perfectly justified.

No minority group, anywhere in the world, can achieve its legitimate goals without solidarity and united action. True, the Muslim community must reject the proposition of fragmentation, but they should apply the same principles of social justice as much within the community as it demands for itself within the nation.

[M Naushad Ansari is the Director of Centre for Dissemination of Universal Message, Bangalore]

Schemes for SC, OBC launched in Goa

The Goa state scheduled caste (SC) and other backward classes (OBC) finance and development corporation on Tuesday announced a slew of schemes for the SC and OBC communities in Goa.

New chairman Girish Chodankar told mediapersons that the upward ceiling of the corporation's various loan schemes has been enhanced from 5 to 10 lakh and also the repayment period has been increased from 5 to 7 years.

Chodankar said that though the corporation had various loan schemes, the benefit was not reaching the needy due to restrictive conditions.

One condition was for the loan applicant to produce a government surety while applying for a loan. But poor applicants were unable to provide government sureties and therefore could not avail of the loan schemes. Now, these applicants can avail of a loan by providing any person as surety, provided the surety files his returns and his income is sufficient to cover the loan.

Chodankar said that the corporation did not have local schemes for the SC and OBC communities in Goa. Now, it has introduced several schemes. One is the Graha Suraksha loan scheme of up to 2 lakh at an interest of 4% meant for house repairs.

The second scheme is the Adarshila scheme for reviving traditional business activity of up to 2 lakh at 4% interest. This has a back-ended scheme of 25,000 or 12.5% of the project cost, whichever is less.

The corporation has also introduced financial assistance schemes. One is the Vidhyavardini scheme under which the corporation will bear the expenses of tuition fees up to graduate level of SC/OBC students who have secured good marks at the higher secondary (Class XII) level. The benchmark for SC students for availing of this financial assistance is 60% and that for OBC students is 75%.

The second is the funeral assistance scheme. Under this scheme, the corporation will provide an amount of 10,000 to poor SC/OBC families to perform the last rites of their departed family members.

The third is the financial assistance for the purchase of artificial limbs. This scheme has been introduced to take care of handicapped children from the SC/OBC community who are in need of artificial limbs.

Under this scheme, an amount of up to 50,000 will be provided for the purchase of an artificial limb till the child attains the age of 20 years. Another scheme is for the distribution of dictionaries to students of Classes VIII, IX and X. Under this scheme, SC/OBC students will be provided with free English dictionaries.

The last scheme is for the distribution of four GB pen drives to students of Classes XI and XII from the SC/OBC communities.

New Website for MBC/BC by Tamil Nadu Government

Thanks to the Government of Tamil Nadu for Launching a new website for Backward and Other Backward Classes in Tamil Nadu.This site was launched by Hon'ble Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu Ms. J Jayalalithaa on 30-11-2022. This site includes Grievances Handling also. Please visit this site.http://www.tn.gov.in/bcmbcmw/default.htm

Central May Relax Definition Of OBC Creamy Layer

New Delhi, Nov 13: The Centre is considering a proposal to drastically relax the definition of "creamy layer" for the OBC quota to enable those with an annual income of Rs 12 lakh in metros to qualify for quota benefits, reports Times of India. This will shoot up the number number of backward caste members eligible for reservation benefits.

The eligibility level is proposed to be raised to Rs 9 lakh in non-metro cities, marking a two-fold hike from the existing ceiling of Rs 4.5 lakh to bar the "creamy" OBCs from availing of reservations in jobs and educational institutions.  

The recommendation of National Commission for Backward Classes (NCBC) is being processed by the Union social justice ministry, and will be applauded by the dominant OBCs who have long cried hoarse that the current ceiling was unrealistic and was the reason why posts as well as seats remain vacant.  

'Creamy layer' is the salary limit beyond which an individual from backward caste ceases to be eligible for job and education quota. The concept seeks to weed out the affluent backwards to help the needy ones.  

Going by the market scenario, a monthly salary of Rs 1 lakh in a metro would qualify significant professionals and white-collar workers for affirmative action benefits, changing the nature of OBC members who make it to the quota net. Till now, the filter has been so tight that even the moderately well-paid backwards remained excluded.  

While the liberal revision of 'creamy layer' could trigger a controversy, sources said the backward panel, headed by M N Rao, stated that affirmative action revolves around 'social discrimination' and economic advancement alone cannot determine social advancement. Quoting key Supreme Court judgments on 'creamy layer', the NCBC argued that the basis of exclusion can be economic only if the financial advancement is high enough to translate into social progress.  

The easing of income criteria may be contested by general sections, who have ignored the 'discrimination' angle to demand that well-off backwards be kept out.Their arguments have centred around the pique that poor upper castes are not given similar government assistance.  

The sentiment came out clearly during UPA 1's policy for 'OBC quota in central educational institutions' when protesters demanded and ensured introduction of 'creamy layer'.  

Realizing the issue's contentious nature, NCBC has made a strong case for upward revision of income limit. Quoting the share of OBCs in central services, he said the aggregate was only 7% - Group A (5.5%), Group B (3.9%), Group C (8.1%) and Group D (5%).  

The representation of OBCs in central PSUs was 20% in 2008-09. It argued that OBCs were not able to exhaust the 27% of quota because of unrealistic income bar that kept out bulk of aspirants.  

To bolster its argument, NCBC said that as per Union ministry of statistics, the value of Rs 100 in 1993 has dwindled to Rs 29 in 2011, which makes income limits like Rs 4.5 lakh redundant.

Caste reservation not applicable for up gradation:SC

Rules of reservation like SC,ST, OBC quota would not apply to upgradation of posts in Government establishments as the benefit could be extended only to promotional posts, the Supreme Court has held.

A bench of justices R V Raveendran and Markandeya Katju quashed the concurrent rulings of the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT), Chennai branch and the Madras High Court that rules of reservation would apply even to upgradation of posts.

" As upgradation involves neither appointment nor promotion, it will not attract reservation. Upgradation involves mere conferment of financial benefits by providing a higher scale of pay. If there is mere upgradation of posts, as contrasted from promotion, reservation provisions would not apply," Justice Raveendran writing the judgement observed.

The apex court passed the ruling while upholding the appeal filed by the BSNL, challenging the directions of the tribunal to restore to Grade 1V the services of certain employees all over the country. The said employees were initially upgraded to Grade 1V from Grade III by applying the reservation rules.

The Government withdrew the upgradation and restored them to the original posts after the CAT, Ahmedabad branch and the Allahabad High Court took the view that reservation rules would not apply to upgradation.

But some of the aggrieved reserved category employees working in Tamil Nadu region approached the CAT in Tamil Nadu against the reversion which ruled in their favour. The Madras High Court concurred with the tribunal's view following which BSNL appealed in the apex court.

LIC OBC staff meet at Chennai

Fifty LIC employees from several branches under Kadapa LIC division in Rayalaseema left by a bus to attend general body meeting of LIC OBC Employees Welfare Association slated at Chennai on August 27 and 28. National Commission for BCs chairman Justice M.N. Rao will be the chief guest. Prominent BC leaders across the country will participate. 

“Minimum eligibility marks for OBCs can be fixed at between 45 and 50”

The Supreme Court on Thursday, while interpreting the Constitution Bench's decision in the ‘OBC case,' said: “The minimum eligibility marks for the OBCs can be fixed at any number between 45 and 50, at the discretion of the institution. Or, where the candidates are required to take an entrance examination and if the qualifying marks in the entrance examination are fixed as 40 per cent for the GC, the qualifying marks for OBC candidates should not be less than 36 per cent.”

The appellant, P.V. Indiresan, wanted Jawaharlal Nehru University to continue the procedure it adopted during 2008-09 and 2009-10, under which it would fix the minimum eligibility marks for the GC, and for the OBC it would decide the marks after all the GC seats were filled by fixing the 10 per cent below the marks of the last GC candidate admitted.

Upholding the Delhi High Court's decision rejecting this procedure, the Bench said: “Such a procedure was arbitrary and discriminatory, apart from being unknown in regard to admissions to educational institutions. The minimum eligibility marks for admission to a course of study is always declared before the admission programme for an academic year is commenced. Whatever be the marks so prescribed, it should be uniform to all applicants and a prospective applicant should know, before he makes an application, whether he is eligible for admission or not.”

Writing the judgment, Justice Raveendran said: “The cut-off procedure followed by Jawaharlal Nehru University during those days had the effect of rewriting the eligibility criteria, after the applications were received from eligible candidates. No candidate who fulfils the prescribed eligibility criteria and whose rank in the merit list is within the number of seats available for admission can be turned down by saying that he should have secured some higher marks, based on the marks secured by some other category of students. A factor which is neither known nor ascertained at the time of declaring the admission programme cannot be used to disentitle a candidate to admission who is otherwise entitled to admission.”

Pointing out that the procedure adopted by the university had resulted in OBC seats reverting to the GC, the Bench said: “If the total number of seats in a course is 154 and the number of reserved seats for the OBCs is 42, all the seats should be filled with OBC students in the order of merit from the merit list of OBC candidates possessing the minimum eligibility marks prescribed for admission (subject to any requirement for entrance examination). When an eligible OBC candidate is available, converting an OBC reservation seat to the GC is not permissible.”

Clarifying the words, ‘cut-off marks,' used in the October 2008 judgment, the Bench said: “The words, ‘cut-off marks,' are used three times in the judgment. In the first instance, the use of the words, ‘extent of cut-off marks,' would refer to the ‘minimum eligibility marks;' in the second instance, the use of words, ‘maximum cut-off marks for OBCs,' would refer to the difference between the minimum eligibility/qualifying marks for the GC and OBCs, and such difference should not be more than 10 per cent of the minimum eligibility/qualifying marks for the GC; and thirdly ‘cut-off marks for GC' would refer to the minimum eligibility for the GC, if there was an entrance examination.”

The Bench said: “In regard to admissions for 2011-12, if any Central educational institution has already determined cut-off marks for the OBCs with reference to the marks secured by the last candidate in the GC and has converted the unfilled OBC seats to the GC seats and allotted the seats to the GC, such admissions shall not be disturbed. But where the process of conversion and allotment is not completed, the OBC seats shall be filled with OBC candidates.”

The Bench said: “If in any Central educational institution, the OBC reservation seats remain vacant, such institutions shall fill the said seats with OBC students. Only if OBC candidates possessing the minimum eligibility/qualifying marks are not available on the OBC merit list, the OBC seats shall be converted to GC seats.”

The Bench extended the last date for admission till August 31 as a special case to facilitate filling of vacant OBC seats.

Merit list OBC seats can't be given to general category: Court

The Supreme Court on Thursday held that ‘cut-off' marks referred to the minimum marks — either eligibility or qualifying marks — required for admission to a course, and it is notified to candidates in advance. The court also said that the seats reserved for the Other Backward Classes cannot be converted to the general category (GC), if OBC candidates are available on the merit list.

A Bench of Justices R.V. Raveendran and A.K. Patnaik, interpreting the Constitution Bench's decision in the ‘OBC case,' said: “The order, dated October 14, 2008, means that where the minimum eligibility marks in the qualifying examinations are prescribed for admission, say as 50 per cent for the GC candidates, the minimum eligibility marks for the OBC candidates should not be less than 45 per cent (that is 10 per cent less of 50).”

The Bench said: “The minimum eligibility marks for the OBCs can be fixed at any number between 45 and 50, at the discretion of the institution. Or, where the candidates are required to take an entrance examination and if the qualifying marks in the entrance examination are fixed as 40 per cent for the GC, the qualifying marks for OBC candidates should not be less than 36 per cent.”

SSP OBC EWA General Secretary Share his views in AGM of AIOBC New Delhi on 5th August 2011

Office Bearers With Hon'ble Union Minister for Steel, Govt. of India on 3 August 2011 in New Delhi

Office Bearers Visit to New Delhi 0n 3rd August 2011 to 5th August 2011( With Director (Personnel & Technical), SAIL Shri BB Singh

DU spells out eligibility for OBC quota

The OBC quota for under graduate admission in Delhi University has turned into an intense debate between the varsity and the HRD ministry. After the Delhi University colleges were told by the HRD ministry last week, not to confuse "cutoffs", the university gave a long list of additional eligibility norms required for admission in undergraduate classes. In its reply, DU also referred to court orders, which states that cut-offs should be on the basis of the aggregate.

The ministry also added that in DU, contrary to other universities like the Jawaharlal Nehru University, there is no eligibility requirement other than pass at the Class XII board examinations. Since there cannot be any eligibility cut-off differential - between general and OBC candidates - in case of DU, it has to be interpreted in a way different than other universities in order to give effect to the constitutional mandate for ensuring reservations to deprived classes. In case of DU, the ministry said, all successful class XII non-creamy layer OBC candidates are eligible for admissions, and the university should admit them to fill 27% seats reserved for them through "inter-se merit" (merit among OBCs). The ministry had also said that referencing the admission cut-off for OBC to the general category cut-off being done by the DU goes against the spirit of Central Educational Institutions Act, 2006. Such referencing, the ministry said, assumes that 27% of seats would be filled from among OBC candidates from a 10% band of marks after excluding those students in the same category, who scored higher and become part of general category students. The HRD further added that this would lead to diversion of seats meant for OBCs to general candidates, which is not desirable.

SSPOBC 3Rd General Body Resolutions

Sub:  Resolutions passed in the 3^rd Annual General Body Meeting of Salem Steel Plant Other Backward Class Employees’ Welfare Association – reg

The 3^rd  Annual General Body Meeting of SSP Other Backward Class (OBC) Employees’ Welfare Association was held on Tuesday, 21^st June 2011 at 6 30 p.m. in the Community Hall at Mohan Nagar.  The meeting was chaired by Shri R Chinnaiya, President of our Association. 

                                                                                                                       

Further, Shri R Madhesh, General Secretary explained the activities of our Association. Shri K.Raja, Organizing Secretary highlighted the various functions of our   Association, Shri P Subramani, Treasurer, submitted the income and expenditure account of our Association and brought out the resolutions..

The following resolutions were passed and adopted by the General Body:

Resolution 1:

For proper functioning and growth of the SSP OBC Employees’ Welfare Association the governing body is reconstituted. The following will be the office bearers and Executive Committee members of SSP OBC Employees’ Welfare Association:

Office Bearers

S.No	Name  S/Shri	SAIL P.No:	Designation	Department
I.	President
	R Chinnaiya	L000498	Junior Manager	CRM (Elect)
II.	Vice Presidents
1.	P Chandran	L000287	Asst. Manager	ADMN
2.	V Govindaraju	L000788	Sr. Technician	WRSS
3.	P Ilayaraja	L001143	Sr. Technician	HRM (Mech)
4.	B Razack	L001221	Sr. Technician	CRM (Mech)
III.	General Secretary
1.	R Madhesh	L001138	Sr. Insp. Assistant	Met.Services
IV.	Organising Secretary
1.	K Raja	L000750	Sr. Technician	CRM (Mech)
V.	Joint Secretary
1.	A Palanisamy	L000429	Sr. Technician	CES
2.	K Vaideeswaran	L000741	Sr. Technician	CRM (Elect)
3.	B Bhuvaneswaran	L000965	Sr. Operator	CRM (O)
4.	R Kumar	L001148	Sr. Operator	HRM (O)
5	R Murugesan	L001303	Sr. Operator	CRM (O)
VI.	Treasurer
1.	P Subramani	L001000	Sr. Operator	CRM(O)ASTP
VII.	EC Members
1.	R Dharmalingam	L000396	Sr. Technician	Auto Garage
2.	P Manickam	L000766	Sr. Technician	Compressor
3.	S Balamurugan	L001007	Sr. Technician	Civil Maint.
4.	T Moorthy	L000825	Sr. Technician	CMM (LPG)
5.	G Sudakar	L000542	Sr. Technician	CES
6.	P Veeramani	L001002	Sr. Technician	-do-
7.	P.A.Arumugam	L000519	Sr. Technician	CMM(Elect)
8.	K Subramanian	L000371	Sr. Technician	CRM  (Elect)
9.	P Kandasamy	L000851	Sr. Technician	CRM (Mech)
10.	R Moorthy	L000944	Sr. Operator	CRM(Cranes)
11.	G Balan	L000963	Sr. Operator	CRM (O) CBL
12.	G Jayakumar	L000745	Sr. Operator	CRM(Roll Shop)
13.	P Govindarajan	L001006	Sr. Operator	CRM(Roll Shop)
14.	K Paranthaman	L001072	Sr. Operator	CRM(O)APL
15.	E Sadasivam	L000989	Sr. Operator	CRM(O)APL
16.	M Sembannan	L001082	Sr. Operator	CRM(O)Z Mill
17.	S Bangaru	L001258	Sr. Operator	CRM(O)Z Mill
18.	R Rajagopal	L001275	Sr. Operator	CRM(O)Z Mill
19.	TS Venkatachalam	L001177	Sr. Technician	HRM (Mech)
20.	M.R.Kannan	L001145	Sr. Technician	HRM (Mech)
21.	R Shabeer	L001168	Sr. Technician	HRM (Elect)
22.	M Senthil Kumar	L001222	Sr. Technician	HRM (Elect)
23.	P Ramachandran	L001159	Sr. Operator	HRM(O)Furnace
24.	M Natesan	L001154	Sr. Operator	HRM(O)Roll shop
25.	V Venkatesan	L000756	Sr. Pharmacist	Medical
26.	A Venkatachalam	L001083	Sr. Assistant	Met Services
27.	B Padmanaban	L001010	Sr. Inspector	Met Services
28.	M Ramesh	L001111	Sr. Technician	SMS
29.	V Chandrasekaran	L001191	Sr. Technician	SMS

Resolution 2:

Considering the large number of members in SSP OBC Employees’ Welfare Association, the General Body request the management of SSP to allot a spacious office of  C /B type quarter with P & T facilities for the proper functioning of the Association.

Resolution 3:

The general body requests the management of SSP to extend the rights such as Check off facility, notice board, TA & DA, special casual leave for office bearers of SSP OBC Employees’ Association for attending National/Regional seminars, participating in AGM of All India Federation, which is being extended by Central Government Organisations and Public Sector Undertakings such as Indian Railways, OFT (Trichy), Reserve Bank of India, Neyveli Lignite Corporation, Union Bank of India, etc.

Resolution 4:

As agreed by the SSP management during the bilateral discussions held on 27-08-2009 between the office bearers of SSP OBC Employees’ Welfare Association and the management,(Shri BB Singh, ED, SSP and all the General Managers participated) coaching classes on OBC reservation as stipulated in the Gazette of India, is to be organized.

Resolution 5:

The general body requests the management to solve the following issues amicably.

• The incentive scheme for workmen is not justifiable compared to other units in SAIL. The plant has encountered many changes like shortage of non-executive man power, expansion and increased production pressures. The general body requests the management of SSP to sign a new incentive agreement at earliest.

• Casual Leave (CL) is to be provided at a rate of 15 days/year. This has been clearly indicated in a release by SAIL. (“Know Your Organisation” Version III-Jan 2011.(Chapter IV, Leave Rules, Page No: 12)). The general body requests the management to announce 15 days CL from January 2011.

• Setting up of grievance redressal committee as per Govt. gazette (The Industrial Disputes (Amendment) Act, 2010 (No: 24 of 2010) for the benefit of employees. Requisition has been submitted by our association to the management on 19-01-2011. The general body requests the management to implement Indian Govt. Gazette at earliest.

• Flexible attendance punching/recording system as in the case of SAIL corporate office. (SAIL Corporate Office Order No. PER/ESS/4091 dt. March 18, 2009)

Resolution 6:

The Board of Directors in their 315^th meeting on 28^th June 2006 had approved ‘in-principle’ the expansion plan of SSP. In their Board’s resolution under Para 5.7 the man power requirement for expansion is found out to be 500 employees. Out of this, it has been identified that 440 employees are to be recruited (Corporate Office letter No.Proj/06/0025/00 dated. July 6, 2006).

In spite of severe shortage of man power in all areas, the management of SSP is least interested in recruiting man power. Hence the General body urges the management to recruit adequate man power to meet the requirements.

Resolution 7:

“Outsourcing” which will tamper the concept of social justice, and does not provide permanent jobs. Moreover this leads to corruption practices in industry.

Hence, this General Council strongly records its dissatisfaction to “Outsourcing” concept and requests the management to provide permanent jobs.

Resolution 8:

At present, the ACTT & OCTT’s are recruited in N1 and N3 grades respectively, and the recruitment has been done on All-India basis. This move affects the career growth of new employees and employment opportunities for regional people. Displaced persons have not been given preference in recent recruitments.

Hence, the General Body requests the management to recruit ACTT & OCTT’s regionally and induct in N3 and N6 grades as before with proper preference to Displaced and regional persons..

Resolution 9:

 At present, the number of promotions for Junior Officers is restricted to 10%. This quantity is very less and there is an ambiguity in the career growth of non-executive employees.

Hence this General Body requests the management of SAIL and SSP to promote all eligible employees which will help in organisational growth.                                                                        

Resolution 10:

At present, there is a growing demand for inclusion of Tamil as one of the official languages in the Indian Constitution.  Under the circumstances, the management of Salem Steel Plant should publish all communication and circulars in regional language of Tamil (as is the practice in other States) for the benefit of all workmen.

Resolution 11:

The General Body requests the SAIL management to nominate a separate OBC Liaison Officer in SAIL Corporate Office for resolving issues /grievances of OBC employees.

Resolution 12:

To encourage the best performing OBC employees in Salem Steel Plant, a new scheme- “Mandal Award” is to be constituted in recognition of their hard work

Resolution 13:

The General body requests the Government of India to constitute:

1.                A separate Parliamentary Standing Committee (consisting of Members of Parliament) should be constituted;

2.                Adequate powers (empowerment) should be delegated to the National Commission for Backward Classes, as provided to other minority women  and SC/ST National Commissions;

3.                In the reservation for backward classes, the creamy layer should be totally eliminated;

4.                The recommendations of Shri Sudharsanam Nachiappan Committee should be fully implemented;

Resolution 14:

The General Body resolves that the OBC employees would extend their fullest support for the growth and functioning of Salem Steel Plant and will strive to ensure that SSP continue to earn profit.

Resolution 15:

The SSP OBC Employees’ Welfare Association expresses its gratitude and sincere thanks to the All India OBC Employees’ Federation for the timely advice and support being extended by them. The General body would extend our total support for the various measures taken by AIOBC in this regard.

                                                 

R Madhesh

General Secretary
SSP OBC Employees’ Welfare Association

Copy to: 

1.      The Hon’ble Union Minister of State for Steel (Independent Charge), Government of India, Udyog Bhavan,New Delhi - 110107

2.      Shri V.Narayanasamy, Hon’ble Union Minister for Parlimentary Affairs and Planning, Guardian for AIFOBCEWA,New Delhi.

3.      Hon’ble Chairman, SAIL, Ispat Bhavan, Lodhi Road, New Delhi 110 003

4.      The Director (Personnel), SAIL, Ispat Bhavan, Lodhi Road, New Delhi -3

5.      The General Manager (P&A), Salem Steel Plant, Salem- 636 013.

6.      Shri G Karunanidhi, General Secretary, AIOBC, 139-Broadway, Chennai-108.