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Lok Sabha passes OBC quota Bill |
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The Lok Sabha has unanimously passed the Bill to provide reservations to students from other backward classes (OBC)s, scheduled castes (SCs) and scheduled tribes (STs) in centrally aided higher education institutions. The Bill adopted on December 14, has not excluded the creamy layer of the OBCs from among the beneficiaries despite the recommendation of a parliamentary standing committee. The panel had suggested that the creamy layer students be enrolled only if there were reserved seats left over after giving priority to the genuinely poor among the OBCs.
Cutting across party lines, Members of the Lok Sabha welcomed the Bill. Some of them demanded quotas for Muslims also. The provisions of the Bill will come into effect from academic year 2007. All institutions in the North East have been exempted as the region is predominately tribal. Eight institutions of excellence have also been kept out of the Bill’s purview.
Tribal Rights Bill cleared
Another important Bill passed by the Lok Sabha last week, was the Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Bill, 2005, seeking to recognise and vest the forest rights and occupation in forest land dwelling scheduled tribes and other traditional forest dwellers. Several important amendments have been incorporated in the Bill adopted by the Lok Sabha by voice vote on December 15.
The redrafted Bill includes other traditional forest-dwellers also instead of only the Scheduled Tribes. The cut-off date, too, has been fixed as December 13, 2005 as against October 31, 1980 in the original Bill. The dwellers would have to be residing on forest land for three generations or 75 years for entitlement to land rights and the right to collect and market the forest products. Now, each family would be entitled to four hectares of forest land as against 2.5 hectares envisaged in the previous Bill.
Replying to the debate, Union Tribal Affairs Minister P.R. Kyndiah said the House has created history by recognising, once and for all, that tribal people are integral to the revival, survival and sustenance of the forest eco-system.
The Bill was unanimously adopted after an amendment moved by Jual Oram of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on allowing the tribals to hunt wild animals symbolically and at least once a year was defeated.
Apex court stays forest panel
The Supreme Court has come down heavily on the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) staying the notification issued by the ministry to re-constitute a Forest Advisory Committee. The court pulled up the ministry for the affidavit it filed to explain the reason for sticking to its own names, ignoring the recommendations of a high-level body constituted by the Court.
The Forest Advisory Committee is a crucial body as it clears all diversion of forest land for mining, irrigation and developmental projects.
The court took strong exception to the ministry’s questioning of the credentials of some renowned experts recommended by Central Empowered Committee (set up by the Supreme Court) to be nominated as members of FAC.
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