Telangana guv sends 42% BC quota ordinance to President
The timing is crucial. With the high court mandating local body elections be held by Sept 30, the President's response will determine whether the state can proceed with its plan to raise the BC quota — a move that challenges the Supreme Court's 50% reservation ceiling. The ordinance, along with two earlier bills seeking 42% BC quota in education, employment, and local bodies, now hangs in the balance.
If the 42% reservation for BCs is cleared by the President, total reservation in the state could reach 77% with 15% for SCs, 10% for STs and another 10% for the economically weaker sections.
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At the heart of the issue is section 285A of the Telangana Panchayat Raj Act, 2018, which stipulates reservation norms for village panchayats, mandal parishads, and zilla parishads. As per Supreme Court guidelines, total reservations for SCs, STs, and BCs in local bodies cannot exceed 50%. Under the previous BRS regime, had elections been held, BC reservations would have remained capped at around 22–23%.
To address this, the Congress-led govt conducted a comprehensive caste census and, based on empirical data, proposed increasing BC reservations to 42%.
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This led to the formulation of the Panchayat Raj (Amendment) Ordinance, which sought to remove the 50% cap in local body reservations.
Governor's rationale
Sources indicate that the governor's decision to escalate the matter to the President stemmed from two main concerns: The state's attempt to override the 50% reservation ceiling — a threshold reaffirmed by various Supreme Court rulings — through legislative amendments and legal ambiguity over whether a state govt possesses the authority to unilaterally remove this cap without prior central approval.
Given these concerns — and with the two BC reservation bills already awaiting Presidential assent — the governor chose to refer the ordinance to the President for further examination, sources said.
Legal precedent
The move also invokes the landmark 1992 Indra Sawhney versus Union of India judgment, in which the Supreme Court ruled that reservations exceeding 50% are permissible only under "extraordinary circumstances" with robust, data-backed justification.
The Telangana govt, citing such exceptional grounds, amended section 285A to base reservations on findings from its caste census. However, the ordinance now awaits Presidential review before it can be implemented.
The delay in local body elections has already had tangible consequences. In compliance with the high court's orders, the govt aimed to finalise reservations by July 25 and then announce the election schedule.
However, the absence of elected bodies has stalled governance at the grassroots level. Development works in villages have come to a grinding halt, and crucial Finance Commission funds — amounting to over ₹1,600 crore — remain frozen, as these can only be released to duly constituted local bodies.
The term of existing local governing institutions expired over 18 months ago, resulting in a vacuum of leadership — no sarpanches, mandal parishad territorial constituency members, or zilla parishad territorial constituency members are in place.
Cong plans next moves
To push for the Centre's assent, the Congress govt has drawn up an action plan. A series of political programmes are scheduled to be held in Delhi between Aug 5 and 7.
The state plans to wait until Aug 15 for a response from the Centre. If there is no progress, the govt is contemplating holding the elections with 42% BC reservations regardless of the pending assent, sources said.
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