LUCKNOW: The Samajwadi Party-led coalition in Uttar Pradesh is likely to introduce a Bill in the State Legislature for reservation to Other Backward Classes (OBCs) in private and professional educational institutions.

Taking a cue from Union HRD Minister Arjun Singh's move to enlarge the scope of reservations, the Uttar Pradesh Government a preparing for a legislation to provide quotas, sources said here.

``The States have been given such powers through the 93rd Constitution amendment,'' said a senior official. The amendment entitles State Governments to introduce quotas in higher education institutions for backward castes. The amendment, however, exempted minority institutions from the ambit of quota system. Reportedly Chief Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav has directed officials to prepare a draft Bill so that it could be introduced in the Assembly session starting May 11. The matter is likely to come before the Cabinet meeting soon.

The move, if comes into effect, would provide for reservation to OBC candidates in 116 engineering and management institutes, 12 medical colleges and two universities set up in the private sector in U.P..

Meanwhile, the National Commission for Scheduled Castes (NSCS) has hauled up the State Government for the decision to confer SC status on 16 castes in OBC category. The State Government, acting on its own, had passed an order giving SC status to 16 OBC castes.

The procedure, said NCSC, was that the state made a reference to the Commission, which would examine it and give its report.

It has to be ratified by the Centre and only after its approval by the President any category gets included in SC category.

UNI

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