Submission of interim report by Moily panel may be delayed

New Delhi, June 29 (UNI) The oversight committee set up by the government on implementation of reservation for OBC in higher educational institutions may have to delay submission of its interim report.

The committee, headed by Administrative Reforms Commission chairperson Veerappa Moily was expected to come out with the interim report on July 10 and final report by August 31 ''Now we will wait for inputs from the sub-groups before we finalise the interim report,'' Mr Moily told UNI.

He said the national colloquium which was slated to be held on July three to arrive at a national consensus had also been postponed.

The committee will now meet on July 13 to consider the reports of the sub-group, and only after that any interim report would be finalised, he said.

The Moily committee is working on the modalities of implementing 27 per cent reservation for Other Backward Classes(OBCs) in the institutions of higher learning. Its mandate is to do that without harming the interest of general category students.

This can be done by increasing seats, for which more infrastructure would be needed, a task Mr Moily thinks was not impossible to achieve by the next academic year from when the government intends to introduce quota. However, some other members of the committee are reported to have expresed reservation about infrastructure to be put in place that early.

The government wants to bring in the quota bill in the monsoon sesion of Parliament which is going to begin from July 24.

Earlier this week, Social Welfare Minister Meira Kumar had questioned a draft Cabinet note HRD Minister Arjun Singh had circulated suggesting a blueprint of sorts on the subject.

Kumar had wondered why the note-- not made public-- could not wait submission of the interim report by an Oversight Committee headed by Veerappa Moily.

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