The Gujarat Assembly has passed the Gujarat Local Authorities Law (Amendment) Bill 2023 by a majority vote to raise reservation for Other Backward Class (OBC) communities in local self-government bodies to 27 percent from the current 10 percent.
The Bill provides for a 27 percent quota for over 160 communities listed under OBC in Gujarat, in municipal corporations, municipalities and panchayats, making Gujarat the fourth state in the country to provide for such reservation.
The new law will lead to amendments in the Gujarat Provincial Municipal Corporation Act, 1949, governing the eight municipal corporations, besides the Gujarat Municipalities Act and the Gujarat Panchayat Act.
Currently, the quota reserved for SC is 7 percent and for ST it is 14 percent in the local self-government bodies.
The population of OBCs in the state is estimated to be 52 percent in rural areas and 46.43 percent in urban areas, with an average population of 49 percent in the entire state.
