Bhubaneswar: The Odisha government has constituted a commission to study the population of socially and educationally backward classes (SEBCs), their political representation and the extent of their political backwardness in local self-government institutions across the state.
The commission will examine the status of SEBCs in both rural and urban local bodies, including panchayats and urban local government institutions, according to a notification issued on Wednesday by the Scheduled Tribes and Scheduled Castes Development, Minorities and Backward Classes Welfare Department.
Retired Orissa High Court judge Justice Pramath Pattanaik has been appointed chairperson of the commission. Retired IAS officer Bijaya Kumar Prusti will be its member, while Special Secretary of the department Sujata Mishra will function as the member secretary.
The panel will assess the proportion of the SEBC population in relation to the total population in local self-government institutions. It will also examine their existing political representation and study the nature and implications of their political backwardness in comparison with their population.
The exercise is aimed at facilitating appropriate measures to ensure adequate representation and protect the rights of SEBC communities in local self-government institutions in the state.
The move comes after Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi decided to undertake a comprehensive study of the socio-political representation of SEBCs in rural and urban local bodies.
The state government had earlier provided 11.25 per cent reservation for SEBC students in professional higher education institutions, including engineering and medical colleges.
