No survey done to identify number of EWS beneficiaries: Centre
The Hindu
The government had earlier told the Supreme Court that it was relying on NITI Aayog figures to estimate the population that would fall under the EWS category
The Union government has not conducted any survey nor is it considering a proposal to conduct one to identify the number of beneficiaries entitled to the Economically Weaker Sections (EWS) reservation, the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment told Lok Sabha on Tuesday, in response to a question from Sajda Ahmed of the All India Trinamool Congress.
While the Supreme Court, earlier this year, heard the constitutionality of the EWS reservation, the Union government had orally told the Constitution Bench that it was relying on the data compiled in the NITI Aayog’s Multi-Dimensional Poverty Index to estimate that 18.2% of the General Category population would fall under the EWS category (about 3.5 crore).
However, in the EWS judgment penned by Justice Dinesh Maheshwari, the court had held that the question of whether any particular classification as economically weaker section is based on relevant data and factors and its extent “could be the matters of consideration as and when arising but, for these and akin grounds, the constitutional amendment, moderately expanding the enabling power of the State, cannot be questioned”.
The Supreme Court Bench hearing the challenge to the income criteria for EWS reservation had also questioned the Union government in October this year over what data it had considered to arrive at the ₹8 lakh criteria for annual family income and on what basis it had arrived at the 10% requirement.
The Bench led by current Chief Justice of India, Justice D.Y. Chandrachud, had gone on to ask the government if it had lifted the income criteria from the OBC Creamy-Layer criteria directly, saying that would be unfair since those qualifying under the EWS category are not facing social and educational backwardness (like OBCs).
Interestingly, in response to another question from Dharmendra Kashyap (BJP) on the income criteria for OBC Creamy Layer and EWS, Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment Pratima Bhoumik said that the Constitution of India does not give the mandate to prescribe different yardsticks for economic parity of two communities within the same country.
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