In a communication sent to the state government on Tuesday, the President approved promulgation of the `Andhra Pradesh Scheduled Castes Rationalisation of Reservations Bill' by Governor C Rangarajan under Article 213 of the Constitution.

This was disclosed at a press conference here on Thursday by Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu after a meeting of the state cabinet. The communication from Rastrapati Bhavan would be conveyed to Governor C Rangarajan for further action on the issue (Promulgation of Ordinance), the Naidu said.

The state government's controversial decision to categorise SCs into four groups-- A,B, C and D -- in June, 1997, has set off a long legal battle in the High Court and the Supreme Court.

While the MadigaReservation Porata Samiti backed the categorisation, the Malas, the dominant community among SCs, strongly opposed the Government's decision. The categorisation became one of the main issues even during elections but the Telugu Desam stuck to its position while the Congress adopted an ambivalent stand.

In September 1997, dealing with a batch of writ petitions challenging the categorisation, a full bench of the High Court quashed the GOs as ultra vires, mainly on the ground that the National Commission for SCs and STs was not consulted in the matter by the state government.

The Government filed an appeal before the Supreme Court on October 13 and simultaneously approached the National Commission for getting its concurrence to the categorisation. Based on the commission's advice, the Government withdrew the petition before the Apex Court on January 24, 1998.

The National Commission was again approached for its concurrence on March 7, 1998. The AP Assembly too adopted a unanimous resolution urgingthe commission to expedite its decision.

Stepping up pressure on the Government, MRPS leader Manda Krishna Madiga undertook an indefinite hunger strike in the city and the MRPS activists resorted to violent methods to press their demand for implementation of categorisation.

The state government sent the data collected from different Government departments on the sub-caste details of SC employees in the state in June, 1998. The commission, however, finally rejected the state government's plea on the ground that a national policy has to be evolved on the issue.

In August last year, the Cabinet approved promulgation of an ordinance to give effect to categorisation and sent it to the Governor for his approval.

Rangarajan referred the matter to the President who obtained legal opinion before conveying his consent for promulgation of the ordinance.

As per the categorisation, the Relli group among SCs (A group) would be entitled for one per cent reservation while the quota for Madigas (B) is seven percent. Malas are allotted six per cent and the Adi Andhra group one per cent.