Moily plans interim report, not to touch creamy layer

NEW DELHI: It’s now official: The Veerappa Moily oversight Committee will not concern itself with the creamy layer issue while working out the modalities of introducing 27% reservation for other backward classes in education institutes under the Centre.

“We are not very much concerned about creamy layer. It is for the government to take a view. I do not think we should rake up the issue whether creamy layer or no creamy layer. If government wants our opinion, we may give,” said Mr Moily.

Although a section of the political class has been demanding the exclusion of the creamy layer from the ambit of quota, the goverment is aware that the issue can ignite several political bush fires. As a matter of fact, all prominent OBC leaders — and many of them lead various components of the UPA — have already spoken strongly against the demand. This prompted the CPM to skip the issue at the last meeting of the UPA-Left coordination commitee meeting.

Sticking to its limited mandate of working out the 27% reservation for OBCs and increasing the seats to maintain the current level of general category seats, the Moily committee is contemplating to give an interim report to the government.

Citing that immense effort will have to go in for ensuring physical infrastructure and manpower for expansion, Mr Moily said, “we are thinking of giving an interim report to the government. We have to do a lot of advanced planning before implementation of reservation by 2007 academic year.”

At the conclusion of the oversight committee’s third meeting, Moily said that a national colloquium would be organised on July 3 in order to discuss the pros and cons of the measures and build a knowledge society. Nearly 40 to 50 eminent academics and other experts would take part in the colloquium. The theme paper for the colloquium will be finalised in the next meeting on June 15.

Given the intense public interest in the issue, the Committee proposes to set up a website for inviting views in order to have a national consensus, he said adding “there will not be any friction or conflict.

The committee is there to resolve conflict.” Admitting that there were problems with regard to infrastructure and faculty to meet the situation, he said the Committee was keen on finding solutions to those problems. “We do appreciate. There are problems and there are obstacles. If we adopt innovative methods, these could be overcome,” he said.