The state cabinet approved a proposal to include 74 sub-castes into the OBC category on Monday after the backward classes welfare department put forward the proposal following a survey and investigations by bureaucrats concerned.

The move indicates that the Trinamool Congress-led state government will try to ensure reservation facilities for sub-castes denied the benefits following a Calcutta High Court order in May 2024. The order invalidated the inclusion of nearly 109 sub-castes into the OBC category after 2010, citing no proper norms were followed while including them.

“As the state cabinet approved the inclusion of 74 more sub-castes into the OBC category on Monday, the total number of sub-castes set to be included would be 140. This time, all rules directed by the courts were followed before sending the proposal to the cabinet,” said Samirul Islam, a TMC Rajya Sabha member.

Sources said that surveys were being carried out over the past two-and-a-half months on 43 other sub-castes. Those could also be included in the list soon after a mandatory investigation by the Cultural Research Institute (CRI). The CRI, which is a wing of the backward classes welfare department, investigates data at the end of the survey.

A source aware of the development said the state government would include all the sub-castes which enjoyed reservation facilities in government jobs and educational institutes before the high court order ahead of the 2026 Assembly polls.

“This time, all rules such as investigations by the CRI after the surveys are conducted, would be followed,” said a source.

Bengal's erstwhile Left Front government had decided to bring more minority sub-castes into the OBC category and increased the OBC reservation from 7 per cent to 17 per cent as it had created a separate “more backward” category and reserved 10 per cent jobs for them in 2010. The Trinamool Congress continued with the policy after it came to power in 2011.

Before Calcutta High Court invalidated the inclusion of 109 sub-castes, there were 81 sub-castes in category A that had 10 per cent reservation. In this category, 56 sub-castes were minorities. Category B, which enjoyed 7 per cent reservation, had 99 sub-castes. Of them, 41 were minorities.

“As most minority sub-castes were included into the OBC category after 2010, the minority sub-castes were the worst hit.... As they no longer had reservations in admission or jobs, it was an uncomfortable situation for the ruling party ahead of the Assembly polls. Therefore the state will leave no stone unturned to complete the process as soon as possible,” said an official.

As the cabinet approved the proposal by the backward classes welfare department to include 74 new sub-castes into the OBC category, a bill will be introduced in the Assembly before extending the benefits to the newly introduced sub-castes, sources said.

“The state government will continue with the previous two-category policy — one with 10 per cent and another with 7 per cent reservation. The minority-heavy group will be considered the more backward group and 10 per cent reservation will be extended to them,” said a source.