In Uttarakhand, OBC (Other Backward Class) reservation for various posts in three-tier panchayats will be determined on the basis of population standard. For OBC reservation on the posts of District Panchayat President, the total population of OBC in the state will be the unit. This information was given in the meeting of the Cabinet Sub-Committee constituted for OBC reservation on Saturday. It was told that on the basis of population, two seats each can be reserved for Scheduled Caste and OBC in all 13 District Panchayats. The remaining nine seats will be general. It was also informed that like the District Panchayat President, reservation will be determined on the basis of population of the district for the posts of District Panchayat Member and Block Pramukh. Apart from this, the population of the block will be considered as the basis for reservation on the posts of Area Panchayat Member and Gram Pradhan. In three-tier panchayats (village, area and district), 18 percent reservation is fixed for Scheduled Caste and four percent for Scheduled Tribe. Earlier, the limit for OBC reservation was fixed at 14 percent, which has now been abolished. OBC reservation has to be determined afresh. However, it has been clarified that SC, ST and OBC reservation will not exceed 50 percent. In this scenario, based on the population standard, the limit of OBC reservation in some panchayats can now go up to 28 percent, while in some it can be zero.
