Almost everyone in Rajasthan now eligible for reservation

90% rural and 40% urban population could claim quota in government jobs under the new EBC Bill

The Rajasthan Assembly on Tuesday cleared an unprecedented Bill to give 14 per cent quota to economically backward classes (EBCs), who are otherwise deprived of any caste reservation.

This Bill was passed along with another Bill that gave five per cent reservation to the special backward classes (SBCs), including the Gujjar community.

Many argue that the EBC Bill, or the Rajasthan Economically Backward Classes (Reservation of Seats in Educational Institutes in the State and of Appointments and Posts in Services under the State) Bill 2015, will not stand court scrutiny.

The EBC Bill might have been brought in to placate the poor among forward castes in the wake of reservation to five communities under the special backward classes (SBC). But if it gets all the necessary approvals, ir could mean two things. First, there will be a clamour for a similar EBC Bill across the country; second, it will make almost every Rajasthani claimant to government jobs and admission in educational institutes. The second part can be understood from a state government notification of August 28, 2009, which declares a person EBC if he or she is not covered under any category of reservation and is member of a BPL family or belongs to a family whose annual income doesn't exceed Rs 2,50,000 annually.

According to the Socio Economic Caste Census 2011, in more than 90 per cent rural households, the highest salary of a family member is less than Rs 10,000. The data suggest households with salaried jobs are merely nine per cent.

The private sector jobs account for 2.86 per cent, suggesting most of the households are dependent on agriculture or some other work. Then there are districts such as Pratapgarh, Jhalawar and Banswara, where the households with salaried jobs range between 2.3 per cent and 4.9 per cent.

Similarly, in urban areas, according to some unpublished Census 2011 reports, also reviewed by Business Standard , 38 per cent households qualify for being called poor. The average household has about five members.

Overall, the state has 68.5 million people, of which 75 per cent (51.37 million) people are in rural areas. Around 12.2 million belong to Schedule Castes and another 9.2 million belong to Schedule Tribes.

The government is yet to release data for the Other Backward Classes.