‘Govt yet to provide accurate population data to OBC commission for reservations‘

Jaipur: Rajasthan govt has not yet supplied the ‘complete’ and ‘accurate’ population data required to finalise reservation for Other Backward Classes (OBC) in panchayat wards, a source in the OBC Commission (political representation) said.According to the source, the govt is still compiling data sought by the commission, delaying the process of determining OBC reservation in panchayat wards.The state govt recently extended the tenure of the commission till Sept 30 after it failed to complete the reservation exercise by the earlier March 31 deadline.The delay in finalising OBC reservations was also cited by the govt before the Rajasthan High Court while seeking additional time for conducting panchayat and urban local body elections.The commission had earlier written to chief secretary V Srinivas that the total population and the backward class population data of panchayats provided to it were ‘incomplete’ and ‘inaccurate’.It also repeatedly flagged the issue before the Panchayati Raj dept.According to the commission, backward-class population data supplied by the Janadhaar Authority contained ‘serious discrepancies’, making it difficult to determine OBC reservations in panchayat wards.The panel urged the govt to direct all district collectors to furnish accurate and complete information to facilitate the reservation exercise.The commission also pointed to inconsistencies in records linked to the Rajasthan State Commission for Backward Classes regarding panchayat-wise Scheduled Caste (SC) and Scheduled Tribe (ST) reservations.It said clear panchayat-level population data, along with the required SC/ST reservation details, had not been properly furnished.Highlighting anomalies, the commission said that in 403 gram panchayats, both the total population and the OBC population were recorded as zero. In 118 panchayats, the total population was shown as 1-500, while in 266 panchayats it was recorded as 501-1,000.The figures contradict Panchayati Raj dept guidelines, which mandate that gram panchayats should have a population of more than 1,200.The commission said the discrepancies reflected an incomplete and inaccurate database, and asked the Janadhaar Authority to rectify the errors.