The Hemant Soren cabinet in Jharkhand on 14 September approved the draft for 'Local Residents of Jharkhand Bill' for defining a local, setting the year 1932 as the cut-off year for the proof of land records. According to this bill, the 1932 Khatiyan (land records) will be the main proof of domicile in the state.
The last land survey was conducted and completed in most parts of present-day Jharkhand in 1932 under the British colonial administration. Making 1932 land records as a proof of domicile had been a popular demand among the Adivasi and Moolvasi (native non-tribals) populations of the state since long.
Along with the domicile bill, the Soren cabinet also approved the 77 percent reservations for Scheduled Caste(SC), Scheduled Tribe (ST), Other Backward Categories (OBC) and economically weaker sections of the population in state government jobs. Most striking among all, is the hike in OBC reservations to 27 percent from the current 14 percent.
The bill also increases the ST and SC reservations to 28 and 12 percent respectively, from the present 26 and 10 percent. The decision fulfils the election promise of the present Jharkhand Mukti Morcha(JMM)-Indian National Congress(INC)-Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) government.
The decision comes amidst a political crisis in the state due to the threat of disqualification of Chief Minister(CM) Hemant Soren as an MLA over an office of profit case. Cornered by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Soren has responded by fulfilling the popular demands of the people and his election promises.