The GHMC Act 1955 has been amended to provide reservations for BC candidates irrespective of sub-castes.
The State Cabinet, On Monday, Issued An Ordinance To Amend The Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation Act, 1955, For The Purpose Of Providing Reservations To Creamy-layer Among The Members Of The Backward Communities In The Election Of GHMC, Irrespective Of Sub-castes Of Bcs.
Briefing media persons after the Cabinet meeting at the state Secretariat on Monday, Minister for Information and Broadcasting J Geetha Reddy revealed that Special Officers will be appointed to various Municipalities where the term of the Municipal Chairpersons would expire on September 29th.
Reddy said that issues of BC enumeration and reservation for women in urban local bodies is also to be sorted out.
The Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation Act, 1955, was amended by Act No. 33 of 1986, introducing, for the first time, reservations to Backward Classes in electoral offices.
The intent of the legislature was to empower Backward Classes as a whole so as to ensure that reservations in elected offices are made available to all the sections within the backward classes irrespective of their inter-caste classifications or the advancement of the sections therein. Further, ever since 1986, reservation of wards for Backward Classes has been done without any further classification amongst them (as A, B, C, D) or any exclusion of advanced groups.
A batch of writ petitions were filed, contending that with regard to Explanation-II to Section 5 (2) of the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation Act, the term 'Backward Classes' as occurring in Section 5 (2) (b) of the Act will have to be reckoned as those Backward Classes recognised by the Government of Andhra Pradesh for the purpose of Article 15 (4) of the Constitution of India; and as such, creamy layer sections among Backward Classes should be excluded to contest from the wards reserved for Backward Classes; and that reservation of wards for Backward Classes should be done category-wise.
The proposed ordinance will enable reservation to all BCs in the elective posts in Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation, without reference to sub-categories.
Courtesy: INN