Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis on Sunday announced that the state government would follow the Tamil Nadu model to provide a 16 per cent quota to the Maratha community in education and government jobs.
“The state backward commission report stated the Maratha community is socially and economically backward. This is an extraordinary situation and calls for extraordinary measures. There is a provision to create a special backward class under the Constitution. We will do it in line with the Constitution. We will do it on the lines of the Tamil Nadu government,” said Fadnavis.
“The commission’s recommendations have been accepted and a cabinet sub-committee has been formed to take the necessary steps to implement the decision,” the chief minister said.
Marathas account for 32 to 35 per cent of the state’s population. “The reservation for the Maraths will be given without disturbing the existing quota for the other communities,” Fadnavis said.
With this, the total percentage of reservations in Maharashtra would be 68 per cent. Fifty-two per cent of the seats in government educational institutions and jobs are reserved for scheduled castes, scheduled tribes, other backward classes and other minor social groups.
The bill to introduce the quota is expected to be tabled in the winter session of the Assembly to be held from Monday.
In Tamil Nadu, the government offers 69 per cent quota to backward and specially backward classes, although a case is pending before the Supreme Court. Non-Muslim backward classes have 26.5 per cent reservations and Backward Muslims have 3.5 per cent.
Another 20 per cent seats are reserved for the most backward classes. Fifteen per cent of the seats are for the Scheduled Castes and 3 per cent for the Arunthathiyar community. One per cent of the seats are for the Scheduled Tribes.