The Maharashtra Assembly today unanimously passed the Maratha Reservation Bill, a legislation that will grant a 10 per cent reservation for the Maratha community in both education and government jobs.
Once enacted, the Maharashtra State Socially and Educationally Backward Bill 2024 will undergo a thorough review after a decade of implementation.
The latest move follows a comprehensive report submitted by the Maharashtra State Backward Class Commission, based on a survey covering nearly 2.5 crore families. This survey meticulously explores the social, economic, and educational backwardness faced by the Maratha community in the state.
The Maratha community constitutes a significant 28 per cent of Maharashtra’s population, according to report.
With passing of law of 10% Maratha reservation under socially and educationally backward category in jobs and education, the total reservation in Maharashtra will go up to 62 percent. In the state, following the 2001 State Reservation Act, the total reservation was 52 per cent. This included quotas for Scheduled Caster (13%), Scheduled Tribes (7%), Other Backward Classes (19%), Special Backward Class (2%), Vimukta Jati (3%), Nomadic Tribe B (2.5%), Nomadic Tribe C-Dhangar (3.5%) and Nomadic Tribe D-Vanjari (2%).
Besides Marathas, communities including Dhangar, Lingayat and Muslim have also raised their demands for reservation in the state.
