Andhra govt appoints One-Man panel for sub-classification in Scheduled Castes

 The Andhra Pradesh government on Monday appointed retired IAS officer Rajiv Ranjan Mishra as the one-man commission to look into the sub-categorisation within Scheduled Castes (SC) in the state following the Supreme Court ruling in favour of it.

“The Government of Andhra Pradesh has appointed Rajiv Ranjan Mishra, IAS (retired) as One Man Commission to enquire into the sub-classification within Scheduled Castes in the light of judgment of the Supreme Court dated August 1, 2024,” said an official press release.

The commission will visit the undivided districts of Eluru, Krishna and Guntur from December 27 to 30 to conduct meetings and receive representations from individuals or institutions familiar with the subject matter.

Memoranda and representations can also be submitted in person or through registered post at the commission’s office until January 9, 2025.

In August, the top court had held that states are constitutionally empowered to make sub-classifications within the scheduled castes, which form a socially heterogeneous class, for granting reservation for the uplift of castes that are socially and educationally more backward among them.