The Jharkhand Cabinet on Wednesday approved a Bill granting 77% reservation in state government jobs for members of Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribe, Other Backward Classes and Economically Weaker Sections, reported PTI.

The Cabinet headed by Chief Minister Hemant Soren approved the proposal to increase the reservation quota and also decided to request the Centre to include the Bill in the Ninth Schedule of the Constitution that would protect it from judicial review.

Jharkhand has 60% reservation quota in state government jobs for the socially and economically weaker sections of the society.

Jharkhand Cabinet Secretary Vandana Dadel said that due to the new Bill, reservation for the Scheduled Tribes will increase to 28% from 26%, Other Backward Classes to 27% from 14% and Scheduled Castes to 12% from 10%, reported the Hindustan Times.

“After including 10% reservation for the Economically Weaker Section, the total reservation would go up to 77%” Dadel said.

Ahead of state Assembly elections in 2019, the Congress had promised to increase reservation quota in jobs for Other Backward Classes to 27% in its manifesto.

The coalition government of Jharkhand Mukti Morcha and Congress also approved another Bill for using land records of 1932 as the basis for domicile in the state on Wednesday, reported PTI.

The Jharkhand Definition of Local Persons and for Extending the Consequential, Social, Cultural and Other Benefits to Such Local Persons Bill, 2022, proposes to grant domicile of Jharkhand to people who have names of their ancestors in the land records of 1932 or before.

The proposal will also be sent to the Centre to include it in the Ninth Schedule of the Constitution.