Bengaluru: The Cabinet has decided on Monday May 30 to amend the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) Act to ensure that the civic body’s reservation does not exceed 50 per cent of seats.
The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike Act currently states that Scheduled Caste, ST, and OBC reservations must be 33 per cent.
The Cabinet decision aims to ensure that the BBMP’s political reservation is in line with Supreme Court directives, which require states to use a three-pronged test to decide quotas.
Based on the top court’s directives to provide reservations for these castes in local bodies, the government has already formed a committee to determine the political backwardness of OBCs.
An amendment to the Karnataka Appointment of Gazetted Probationers Rules was also approved by the Cabinet. If candidates selected for Grade A and B posts refuse to take charge during the recruiting process, the posts will be considered vacant and filled during the next recruiting drive. Currently, if a candidate does not accept the job, the jobs are filled by those ranked lower on the merit list.
However, this resulted in confusion and litigation. According to sources, the government has decided to end the practice to avoid the same.
