Odisha Becomes 4th State to Complete OBC Survey

Bhubaneswar: Odisha became the fourth state in the country to complete the survey of the Other Backward Classe (OBC) populace in the state.

The Odisha State Commission for Backward Classes completed the survey this week. It began on May 1 and ended on June 24. But it is alleged that a large number of migrant workers living outside the state could not be included in the survey.

This survey documented the educational, occupational, and other household information of OBC families.

This survey will reveal the population share of OBCs, enabling the formulation of policies for their proper development. The last nationwide caste survey was done in the 1930s. After that except for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, the OBCs have not been enumerated.

Till now Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, and Haryana have conducted their own OBC surveys. But finding fault in it the Supreme Court restrained the Maharashtra government from implementing reservations in local body elections based on it.

The Supreme Court directed Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra, whose policy of introducing OBC reservation in local body elections had been challenged, to establish a dedicated commission each for an “empirical inquiry” into the matter.