Centre notifies OBC quota law for Chandigarh

Days after the Supreme Court directed the Chandigarh Administration to provide 3 % OBC reservation in academic seats including MBBS to the local administration, the Centre on Tuesday night notified the enactment extending the OBC reservation to Chandigarh.

The SC had ordered 3 % reservation for other backward classes in Chandigarh government institutes on a special leave petition filed before it after the Punjab and Haryana High Court refused to cancel the admission brochure of the Government Medical College, Chandigarh, for not providing OBC reservation in MBBS admissions.

The SC direction has come after the Centre informed it that the law extending OBC quota to Chandigarh would be notified in a week.

In accordance with its submission to the SC, the Ministry of Home Affairs tonight extended the Haryana Backward Classes (Reservation in Services and Admission in Educational Institutions) Act, 2016 to the Union Territory of Chandigarh, with several important modifications.

The move was made under Section 87 of the Punjab Reorganisation Act, 1966. The significant development seeks to provide 27% reservation to Other Backward Classes (OBCs) in government services and admissions in educational institutions under the Chandigarh Administration.

In a key change in the enactment, the term “Backward Classes” used in the original Haryana Act has been replaced by “Other Backward Classes” throughout the extended version.

The reservation will apply to those OBC communities listed in the Central List of Other Backward Classes for the Union Territory of Chandigarh, rather than those listed in Haryana’s state list.

The Administrator of Chandigarh, appointed by the President under Article 239 of the Constitution, will now perform all the roles assigned to the State Government in the original Act.

Several sections of the Act have been modified to reflect the Union Territory governance structure.

Under the now extended law, 27% reservation will be provided to OBCs in government services and educational institutions functioning under the Chandigarh Administration, as well as institutions receiving grants from it.

However, the reservation in educational institutions will be implemented in a staggered manner over six years—starting with 3% in the first year and increasing gradually to 27% by the sixth year.

The notification also includes a new schedule listing 58 castes and communities recognised as OBCs in Chandigarh. These include Aheria, Nai, Kumhar, Kurmi, Gaddi, Saini, Gujjar, Jogi, Mochi, Ramgarhia, Teli, Lohar, Barai, Dhobi, and Jullaha (excluding those listed as Scheduled Castes), among others.

Chandigarh