The Justice J. B. Koshy Commission observes that the 10% reservation implemented for the Economically Weaker Sections (EWS) among the unreserved categories often fails to reach the deserving beneficiaries in Kerala. The primary reason identified is that criteria formulated with North Indian rural conditions in mind are applied unchanged in Kerala. To address these challenges, the Commission has proposed the following key recommendations.
Residential Plots and Agricultural Land
In Kerala, houses are typically located within agricultural land. However, according to central norms, only 2.1 cents in municipalities and 4.1 cents in panchayats are permitted as “residential plots.” As a result, farmers possessing land beyond this limit are denied reservation benefits, even if such land is used exclusively for agriculture. The Commission recommends that homesteads of farmers should continue to be treated as agricultural land, and that only designated housing colonies in urban areas should be considered as residential land.
House Area and Structural Features
The stipulation that a house must be below 1000 square feet is a significant disadvantage for farmers in Kerala. Considering the local practice of providing space attached to the house for storing agricultural produce and rearing livestock, the Commission recommends relaxing this limit. It also calls for increasing land extent limits, taking into account the specific conditions of regions such as Kuttanad and the highland areas.
Concessions in Education and
Employment Sectors
Similar to the benefits granted to OBC categories, the Commission recommends extending age relaxation in PSC appointments and mark concessions in qualifying examinations such as SET and KTET to the EWS category. It further suggests that EWS reservation should be given retrospective effect in PSC notifications issued from January 2020 onwards, and that pending appointments should be regularized accordingly.
Areas Requiring Administrative Reform
To eliminate procedural hurdles in obtaining EWS certificates, the Commission recommends making the entire application process fully online. It also proposes the appointment of dedicated nodal officers in every district to address grievances effectively.
Conclusion
Given that states have constitutional authority to modify such criteria, the Commission emphasizes that these recommendations should be implemented urgently to support farmers and ordinary citizens in Kerala.
Rev. Fr. Sabin Thoommulil
