The Center has instructed the Supreme Court that the caste census of backward courses is “administratively difficult and cumbersome” and to exclude such info from the purview of the census is a “conscious policy decision”.
The Centre’s stand assumes significance as a delegation of 10 events led by Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar not too long ago met Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the demand for caste census.
In an affidavit filed within the apex court docket, the federal government has mentioned that the caste enumeration within the Socio-Economic and Caste Census (SECC) 2011 was filled with errors and inaccuracies.
The affidavit was filed within the apex court docket in response to a plea by Maharashtra searching for a path to the Center and different involved authorities to reveal the SECC 2011 uncooked caste information of Other Backward Classes (OBCs) to the state, which was not offered to them. On “repeated demand”.
The affidavit, filed by the Secretary, Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, mentioned that the Center has issued a notification in January final 12 months prescribing the collection of knowledge to be collected throughout Census 2021 and can embody info associated to scheduled areas are included. Caste and Scheduled Tribe however doesn’t discuss with every other class of caste.
It mentioned that excluding details about every other caste from the purview of the census is a “conscious policy decision” taken by the central authorities.
It states that the OBC/BCC (Backward Classes of Citizens) enumeration has all the time been administratively “extremely complicated” and even when the caste census was carried out within the pre-independence interval, The information was impressed with respect to completeness and accuracy.
“This concern has been examined intimately at completely different instances prior to now. Each time, the view has been persistent that the caste census of backward courses is administratively tough and cumbersome; It has suffered and can endure due to the completeness and accuracy of the info, as additionally evident from the vulnerabilities of the SCEE, 2011 information, which make it unusable for any official functions and as a supply of knowledge for inhabitants information. can’t be talked about. in any official doc,” the affidavit mentioned.
The authorities mentioned the SECC 2011 survey was allegedly not on an ‘OBC survey’, however a complete train to calculate the caste standing of all households within the nation, in response to their assertion.
It mentioned that socio-economic information of households, together with their “deprivation”, had been used to determine poor households primarily based on the multidimensional nature of poverty and used within the implementation of anti-poverty packages by central authorities ministries. had gone.
It mentioned, “The caste data is not disclosed and kept with the Office of the Registrar General of India (ORGI) for various reasons, but mainly due to technical flaws in the raw caste/tribe SECC data.” which makes it unusable as defined hereinafter”.
The matter got here up for listening to on Thursday earlier than a bench headed by Justice AM Khanwilkar, which posted it for October 26.
In the affidavit, the federal government has mentioned that so far as caste figures are involved, caste-wise enumeration has been omitted within the census underneath the coverage since 1951 and thus castes aside from Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes have been excluded from any castes since 1951 until date. Tribes haven’t been counted within the census.
It mentioned that the calls for of varied sections, together with Members of Parliament, for enumeration of castes within the 2011 Census had been acquired through the 12 months 2010 and the matter was mentioned within the Lok Sabha and later, the federal government referred it to a Group of Ministers (GoM). was despatched underneath the chairmanship. The then Union Finance Minister.
The affidavit mentioned that the Union Cabinet had determined to conduct SECC 2011 in 2011 with a path to gather the recognized parameters together with the caste of the family in addition to the socio-economic standing.
It mentioned that as per the choice of the cupboard, the info has been shared in arduous disk by ORGI with the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment in order that acceptable choice may be taken on its use.
“Relevantly, due to several deficiencies found in the above data, as explained hereinafter, it was decided by the Cabinet to constitute an expert committee under the chairmanship of Professor Arvind Panagariya, the then Deputy Chairman of NITI Aayog,” it mentioned. mentioned.
It mentioned different members of the committee weren’t named and the panel by no means met.
“As a result, no action has been taken on the data in the last five years,” it mentioned.
The affidavit mentioned that whereas greater than 4.28 lakh castes have been enumerated in SECC 2011 within the state, the present castes that are revealed in Maharashtra in SC, ST and OBC classes are solely 494.
“For numerous causes talked about above both because of the errors dedicated by the enumerators, inherent flaws in the way in which the census is carried out and lots of such different elements, there isn’t any dependable or dependable caste primarily based census information accessible which can have any constitutional foundation. OR Statutory workouts comparable to reservation in admission, promotion or native physique elections,” the affidavit mentioned.
The authorities acknowledged that the inhabitants census shouldn’t be the “ideal instrument” for the gathering of particulars on castes and that operational difficulties are so excessive that there’s a severe hazard that the essential integrity of the census information could also be compromised and the essential inhabitants counts. May go. might distort itself
.
With inputs from TheIndianEXPRESS
