The Telangana Assembly on Monday passed two bills that will increase reservations for the Backward Classes in education, government jobs and elections to local bodies, The Hindu reported.

The two proposed legislations were approved following an eight-hour debate in the Assembly. The bills were supported by Opposition Bharat Rashtra Samithi and the Bharatiya Janata Party, The Indian Express reported.

It is unclear if the state’s Legislative Council, or the Upper House, has approved the bills.

Once approved by the Union government, the legislations will guarantee a 42% quota for the Backward Classes, 15% for the Scheduled Castes and 10% for the Scheduled Tribes in the state.

The total quotas in the state would increase from 50% to 70%. This would breach the 50% limit on caste-based reservations that the Supreme Court had put in place in 1992.

Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy said that he will take “proactive measures” to ensure the amendments take effect.

“Leaders of all parties are welcome to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi to push for this reservation,” The Indian Express quoted Reddy as saying. “The reservation can be implemented only if the Centre includes the new reservation allocation in the ninth schedule of the Constitution.”

Another bill to allow for the sub-classification of the Scheduled Castes was also cleared by the House, The News Minute reported.

The Supreme Court had on August 1 allowed the sub-classification of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes quotas for reservations in government jobs and education.

The Assembly passed the bills after the state government’s caste survey found that Backward Classes constitute 56.3% of the population in Telangana. This includes Muslim caste groups.

The population of Backward Classes in absolute numbers in Telangana is 1.9 crore, according to the data released on February 2.

As per the door-to-door household survey conducted in November and December, Scheduled Castes comprise 17.4%, or 61.8 lakh, of the population and Scheduled Tribes accounted for 10.4%, or 37 lakh. Other castes made up 15.7% of the population.

Muslims made up about 12.5%, or 44.5 lakh, of the population. Of this, Backward Classes Muslims accounted for 10%, or 35.7 lakh, and Other Classes of Muslims accounted for 2.4%, or 8.8 lakh.

In February 2024, a resolution was passed in the Assembly on the caste survey, after which it was undertaken by the state planning department.

The caste survey was one of the promises made by the Congress in Telangana ahead of the Assembly elections in 2023. The party won the elections, defeating the Bharat Rashtra Samithi.

With the release of the report, Telangana became the third state to carry out such a survey after Bihar and Andhra Pradesh.

Several Opposition parties, including the Congress, have also urged the Centre to conduct a nationwide caste census. They have contended that the exercise would help improve the delivery of social benefits and welfare schemes to the public.

In November 2023, the Bihar government had similarly increased caste-based reservations in education and government jobs from 50% to 65% based on its caste survey.

However, the Patna High Court in June struck down the amendments made by the state’s legislature. The ruling came on a batch of petitions contending that the amendment violated the principle of equal opportunity for citizens.

The Bihar government has challenged the High Court judgement in the Supreme Court.

Also read: What possibilities and challenges does the caste survey open up for the BJP and the Opposition?