Rajasthan allows 18 more castes in BC list

Rajasthan allows 18 more castes in BC list
UNITED NEWS OF INDIA

JAIPUR, JAN 2: Rajasthan Cabinet on Saturday approved the inclusion of 18 more castes in the list of Backward Classes as per recommendations of Rajasthan State Backward Class Commission.

However, the Cabinet rejected the recommendation for classifying these castes in `A' and `B' groups and returned it to the Commission for reconsideration, Chief Minister Ashok Kumar Gehlot told newsmen after a Cabinet meeting.

The chief minister said that though the Commission had agreed to give recommendations for the Jats of Bharatpur and Dhaulpur before the panchayat elections, however, due to technical reasons, it was thought necessary to obtain a copy of the Central Commission's report and know why these classes were not granted reservation.

State Commission's recommendations on reservations for Jats and Sindhi Muslims of Dhaulpur and Bharatpur were expected to be submitted soon, Gehlot added.

The 18 castes which would now be in the backward category are Bishnoi, Mewa, Gaddi, Kachera, Jadia, Farqi Bhatiara,Silawat Besides, Sompura Murtikar, Sidhu, Patel, Patidar Ojanda, Dangi Patel, Kulami, Neelagar, Kherwa, Dhobi Muslims, Kayamkhani, Kunjada, Raeen, Madari, Bazigar and 18 Nut.

The total number of castes included in the list of Backward Class has now gone up to 77 in Rajasthan.

On empowering Panchayati Raj institutions in the state as per the Constitutional amendments, the chief minister said that a five-member sub-committee had been set-up in this regard. The members include Minister of State for Panchayat C P Joshi, Cooperation Minister Gulab Singh Shktawat, Irrigation Minister Ms Kamla, Home Minister Pradhumna Singh and Public Health Engineering Minister Ramsingh Bishnoi.

The decision about rights and other amendments will be taken after the panchayat election. A notification for the poll was expected to be issued in a couple of days, he added.

Claiming that power position in the state has improved, Electricity Minister Chandrabhan who was also present said that availability of electricity hasincreased to 725 lakh units. Load shedding in cities now had been reduced from three to two hours, he said, adding that supply in villages had also been improved.