In a swift move to thwart social activist Manoj Jarange-Patil’s planned protest on January 20 for Marathas’ demand for Kunbi (OBC) status, the Maharashtra state government has directed a rapid completion of the survey to determine the social and educational backwardness of the community within seven days.
A government resolution issued on Thursday empowers district collectors to enlist additional human resources, including talathis, police patil, and kotwals, to collaborate with enumerators for the expeditious collection of data. The comprehensive survey will encompass all communities falling under the open category.
The Gokhale Institute of Politics and Economics in Pune has formulated a questionnaire featuring over 100 questions, with a corresponding mobile application for recording responses. The survey, delving into social, economic, and educational dimensions, includes nearly 35 questions in each category. Over one to one-and-a-half lakh employees are expected to function as enumerators across the state.
Despite the government’s urgency to complete the survey, Maratha activist Balasaheb Sarate, engaged in a legal battle on reservation issues, expressed skepticism, attributing the haste to preventing Jarange-Patil’s arrival in Mumbai. Sarate cautioned that a report generated in this manner might not secure reservation for Marathas, especially if it surpasses the 50% limit set by the Supreme Court.
The government has appointed divisional commissioners at the divisional level, district collectors, and municipal commissioners as nodal officials for the survey.
This directive to expedite the survey follows Chief Minister Eknath Shinde’s recent instruction to prioritize and swiftly complete the Maratha community survey undertaken by the state backward classes commission.
The Maharashtra State Backward Class Commission is tasked with preparing the report to establish the social and educational backwardness of the Marathas. Notably, the survey’s completion within seven days coincides with heightened tensions surrounding the Maratha reservation issue and the upcoming protest.
