PIL to Seek Quota for Dhangar Community of Mah. in ST Category for Education and Jobs
To provided reservation to Dhangar community of Maharashtra in the ST category in jobs and education, a PIL was filed in Bombay High Court.
To provide reservation to Dhangar (shepherd) community of Maharashtra in the Scheduled Tribes (ST) category in jobs and education, a PIL was filed in Bombay High Court seeking a direction to the Maharashtra government.
Activist Hemant Patil, who had filed the PIL said that Dhangar community was already included in the ST list in Maharashtra. But unfortunately, they were not considered by the government for reservation in jobs and education in the ST category. Before this PIL, he had already filed a PIL seeking separate reservation for the community in the state and it is still pending in the High Court. In his fresh PIL, Patil has urged for reservation to the community in the ST category. The PIL is expected to come up for hearing next week informed RN Kachave, the petitioner’s lawyer.
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The petitioner also informed that on July 12 he had made a representation to Devendra Fadanvis, the Chief Minister of Maharashtra, urging to implement reservation for the shepherd community in the ST category since it was included in the ST list.
Activist Hemant Patil is also the president of NGO 'Bharat Against Corruption'. He said he had also protested on the issue in front of Vidhan Bhavan on August 1, along with his supporters. But the state government is yet to take any action.
It is to be noted that after the recommendations of Kalekar report, the ST list was amended. The ST list of the then Madhya Pradesh listed Dhangar community without referring to any particular district or tehsil at serial number 26.
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The PIL also said Gujarat and Maharashtra became separate states on May 1, 1960, and the ST list of Maharashtra showed the community at serial number 27. But surprisingly, the community is yet to get the reservation in the ST category till date. Right now the community gets a reservation in Nomadic Tribe category only.