Bhubaneswar, November 23: Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan has written to National Commission for Backward Classes (NCBC) Chairman Hansraj Ahir requesting him to include 14 castes or communities currently listed in the Odisha State Backward Classes (SEBC) list in the Central OBC list.

In a letter to Ahir, Pradhan, who hails from Odisha wrote, “I request you to include Khandayat, Paik, Chasa Paik, Alia, Paikali, Kalingi Shudra Khandayat, Mahanayak Shudra, Odi-Khandayat, Bayalisha, Od, Od Paik, Od Paiko, Haladia Teli, and Rajashribalasi/Balasi castes, currently listed in the SEBC list in the Central OBC list.”

“Many castes or communities in the State SEBC list are not in the Central OBC list. As a result, people of these communities are being deprived of availing the benefits of reservation in Central Government jobs, education, admission in professional educational institutions, and various welfare schemes of the Governments,” said Pradhan.

“Inclusion of these castes of this category in the Central OBC list will lead to their socio-economic development and will be a crucial step towards giving them their rights,” said Pradhan.

Notably, in August, the NCBC Chairman Hansraj Ahir led a a public hearing in Bhubaneswar on inclusion of castes in Odisha’s Central OBC list. Representatives of proposed communities attended the hearing and submitted their representations.

The NCBC, a constitutional body under Article 338B, is mandated to safeguard the rights of socially and educationally backward classes and ensure due process in their recognition.