Odisha begins OBC survey after Bihar, process to continue till May 27

Odisha on Monday became the second state in the country to launch the OBC survey.

The much-awaited survey will continue till May 27, an official said.

The opposition BJP has criticised the ruling dispensation over the manner in which the exercise is being undertaken, while the ruling BJD said the survey is being held to ensure the socio-economic development of the other backward classes (OBC).

Bihar was the first state to have launched the survey, the first phase of which was launched on January 21 and the second on April 15 this year.

It is being carried out in all 314 blocks and 114 urban local bodies of Odisha, the official said.

“The objective of the survey is to get a picture of the present social and educational conditions of the people belonging to backward classes in Odisha,” he said.

The social and educational conditions of 208 enlisted OBC communities will be collected during the survey, which will be followed by a special drive to ensure that none was left out across the state, the official said.

The Odisha State Commission for Backward Classes (OSCBC) is conducting it in both online and offline modes and will encompass various indicators like occupation, educational qualifications along with the type of educational institutions attended by the members of the households to gauge the social and educational conditions of backwardness in the state Odisha, he said.

The commission has opened centers in all Angawadi kendras and in different PDS outlets where people from the community will submit their details and complete the survey, the official said.

The state government said in a notification that the survey will be carried out under the powers conferred by the OSCBC Act, 1993 and OSCBC (Amendment) Act, 2020.

According to the provisions of the two Acts, the heads of the families or any senior person can provide the family data at the survey center. The families under survey require to give details of their ration and Aadhar cards or voter identity cards of their members.

OBC families having no ration cards may also submit their details at the survey centers. The people can also register their details for the online survey free of cost, the official said.

This apart, the people can also register their details at ‘Mo Seva Kendras’ by making the requisite payment, he said.

Lashing out at the BJD government in Odisha over the manner in which the exercise has been undertaken, the opposition BJP has dubbed the drive as "a drama to hoodwink the people". It demanded holding of the door-to-door survey instead of in different camps.

BJP state OBC Morcha president Surath Biswal accused the state government of undertaking the survey with a "political motive" as the simultaneous general and state election are due in 2024. The state has deprived 54 per cent of people in Odisha of their constitutional rights for so many years by not updating the backward class list.

Biswal alleged that the state government is "enacting a drama in the name of OBC survey to mislead people ahead of elections".

Biswal said, "We doubt that there is a bid to reduce the OBC ratio in the state’s population".

He claimed that 15 castes named in central OBC list are yet to be included in the state’s SEBC (socially and educationally backward class) list and blamed the state government for giving false information recently about including 22 castes in it. Those castes which have not been included must be added in the list and be enumerated. Migrated families should also be included..

Biswal demanded that it provide 27 per cent quota to OBCs in education and jobs as in other states.

The ruling BJD maintained that the survey is being conducted to make government policies more effective, ensure the socio-economic development of the backward classes and improve their social and educational conditions.

“The survey is being conducted without having any political consideration as alleged by the opposition parties. It is purely for the welfare of OBCs,” BJD vice-president and MLA Debi Prasad Mishra said.

The SC, ST, minorities and OBC Minister Jagannath Saraka said “The government has no political intention. The survey is being conducted for the welfare of the OBCs. Let the opposition say what it wants, the Naveen Patnaik government is dedicated to the welfare of the OBCs”.

The Odisha State Commission for OBC chairperson Justice Raghunath Biswal said that the survey work will be completed within five months.

Those who are not covered in the survey now may be added in the list later, he added.