Goa panchayat polls: State Election Commission notifies 21% quota for OBCs

PANAJI: The state election commission (SEC) on Wednesday issued a modified notification for the panchayat election with 21% reservation for OBCs. A total of 307 wards in 185 village panchayats have been reserved for the community, along with 27 for scheduled castes (SC) and 187 for scheduled tribes (ST).
The election is scheduled to be held on August 10. On July 1, the SEC notified the reservation of seats for SCs, STs, and women for 185 panchayats.
“SEC, in exercise of the powers conferred upon it, do hereby notify reservation of seats in village panchayats for general elections to 185 village panchayats except one village panchayat which would be notified separately,” said state election commissioner W V Ramanamurthy.
On July 6, the state government submitted the report/recommendations of the Goa state commission for backward classes (GSCBC) with regards to the backwardness of OBCs and reservation of seats for the community.
The state instructed the GSCBC to conduct a contemporaneous rigorous empirical inquiry into the nature and implications of the backwardness qua local bodies within the state of Goa, and to specify the proportion of reservation required to be provisioned local body-wise.
The commission then analysed the data in respect of every panchayat and assessed the backwardness of the community in respect to their past representation, dominance, empowerment, literacy status, financial barriers, etc.
The committee then submitted the proposal for reservation of seats to the SEC, which further forwarded it to the state for consultation and comments. The government returned the reservation proposal to the commission after completing the consultation process on July 11.
On July 6, hours after the Supreme Court refused relief to the state government on the panchayat polls, chief minister Pramod Sawant had said that elections to the 186 local bodies would be held on August 10.