Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Sunday said the Maratha community in the state would be accorded reservation under the socially and educationally backward class category, Loksatta reported. The government took the decision after studying the report that the State Backward Class Commission submitted on November 15.

The chief minister made the announcement at an interaction with the media in Mumbai on the eve of the Winter Session of the Maharashtra legislature. He added that the government has not yet decided if the reservation will be 16% as recommended by the backward class panel, News18 reported.

“We have accepted the recommendations and constituted a Cabinet sub-committee to take statutory steps for implementing them,” ANI quoted the chief minister as saying.

The matter was handed over to the commission in June 2017 amid growing demands from the community for reservation. Members of the panel toured Maharashtra for more than 15 months, met about 2 lakh members of the Maratha community and surveyed 25,000 families.

Fadnavis had said on November 14 that his government would need 15 days to complete all the statutory requirements. The Maratha community has been protesting for reservation in jobs and education for more than a year.