EWS RESERVATION - POLITY

News: Bihar govt announces 10% reservation for EWS in judicial services, government law colleges

 

What's in the news?

       Bihar government announced 10 percent reservation for the Economically Weaker Sections (EWS) in the judicial services and state-run law colleges and universities.

 

Key takeaways:

       The announcement came just a day after the government released the first set of data from state’s caste survey.

 

Constitutional provisions:

       The 10% EWS quota was implemented by modifying Articles 15 and 16 of the 103rd Constitution (Amendment) Act, 2019.

       EWS reservation was granted based on the recommendations of a commission headed by Major General (retd) S R SINHO.

       It added Articles 15 (6) and 16 (6).

       It is for the Economically Weaker Sections' economic reservation in jobs and admissions to educational institutes (EWS).

       It was designed to advance the welfare of the poor who were not covered by the 50% quota policy for Scheduled Castes (SCs), Scheduled Tribes (STs) & Socially and Educationally Backward Classes (SEBC).

       It empowers both the Centre and the states to grant reservation to the economically weaker sections of the society.

 

Eligibility criteria:

       The eligibility to get the EWS certificate is not only purely based on annual family income but also based on the held property.

       The income limit has been set by the central government for admission to central government-owned colleges and jobs offered by the central government.

       State governments are given the authority to change the eligibility criteria and also to extend the income limit further for candidates seeking reservation under EWS category, which will be valid only in state-owned colleges and state government's jobs as deemed fit for the respective states.

 

Criteria for identifying EWS quota:

       Candidate's annual family income must be less than Rs. 8 lakhs per annum.

       Their family must not own more than 5 acres of agricultural land.

       The residential flatmates area should be below 1000sq.ft.

       The residential plot's area should be below 100 square yards if in a notified municipality sector.

       The residential plot's area should be below 200 square yards if in a non-notified municipality sector.

 

Significance of EWS Reservation:

1. Empowering economically weaker sections:

       The 10% quota is progressive and could address the issues of educational and income inequality in India since the economically weaker sections of citizens have remained excluded from attending higher educational institutions and public employment due to their financial incapacity.

2. Constitutional recognition of the Economic Backwards:

       There are many people or classes other than backward classes who are living under hunger and poverty-stricken conditions.

       The proposed reservation through a constitutional amendment would give constitutional recognition to the poor from the upper castes.

3. Reduction of Caste Based Discrimination:

       It will gradually remove the stigma associated with reservation because reservation has historically been related with caste and most often the upper caste look down upon those who come through the reservation.

       In Ram Singh v. Union of India (2015), SC asserted that social deficiencies may exist beyond the concept of caste (e.g. economic status/gender identity as in transgenders).

 

Challenges ahead:

1. Reduction within general category: The EWS quota remains a controversy as its critics say it reduces the size of the open category, besides breaching the 50% limit on the total reservation.

2. Arbitrariness over income limit: The court has been intrigued by the income limit being fixed at ₹8 lakh per year. It is the same figure for excluding the ‘creamy layer’ from OBC reservation benefits.

3. Socio-economic backwardness: A crucial difference is that those in the general category, to whom the EWS quota is applicable, do not suffer from social or educational backwardness, unlike those classified as the OBC.

4. Metropolitan criteria: There are other questions as to whether any exercise was undertaken to derive the exceptions such as why the flat criterion does not differentiate between metropolitan and non-metropolitan areas.

5. OBC like criteria: The question the court has raised is that when the OBC category is socially and educationally backward and, therefore, has additional impediments to overcome.

6. Not based on relevant data: In line with the Supreme Court’s known position that any reservation or norms for exclusion should be based on relevant data.

7. Breaches reservation cap: There is a cap of 50% on reservation as ruled in the Indira Sawhney Case. The principle of balancing equality ordains reservation.

 

Should India need reservation?

1. Duty of the state to provide equality of status and opportunity:

       Reservation is one of the tools against social oppression and injustice against certain classes.

       Otherwise known as affirmative action, reservation helps in uplifting backward classes.

2. Reservation is just one of the methods for social upliftment:

       There are many other methods like providing scholarships, funds, coaching and other welfare schemes.

3. Vote bank politics:

       Indian Constitution allowed reservation only for socially and educationally backward classes.

       However, in India, it became caste-based reservation instead of class-based reservation.

4. Mandal Commission Report:

       Initially, the reservation was intended only for SC/ST communities – that too for a period of 10 years (1951-1961). However, it got extended ever since.

       After the implementation of the Mandal Commission report in 1990, the scope of the reservation was widened to include Other Backward Communities (OBCs).

5. Enjoyed only by few:

       The benefits of the reservation were successively enjoyed only by a few communities (or families), excluding the truly deserving ones. Even 70 years after independence, the demand for reservation has only increased.

       Now, with the introduction of economic criteria for reservation, in addition to the caste-criteria which already existed, things have become more complicated.

 

WAY FORWARD:

1. Preserving the merit: We cannot rule out the sorry state of economic backwardness hampering merit in our country.

2. Rational criteria: There has to be collective wisdom to define and measure the economic weakness of certain sections of the society in order to shape the concept of economic justice.

3. Judicial guidance: Judicial interpretation will pave the wave forward for deciding the criterion for EWS Quota.

4. Targeted beneficiaries: The centre needs to resort to more rational criteria for deciding the targeted beneficiary of this reservation system. Caste Census data can be useful in this regard.

5. Income study: The per capita income or GDP or the difference in purchasing power in the rural and urban areas, should be taken into account while a single income limit was formulated for the whole country.

 

Reservation is a constitutional scheme to ensure the participation of backward classes shoulder to shoulder with all citizens in the nation-building process. The EWS quota with above discussed ambiguities is the subversion of the constitutional scheme for reservation.