Creamy layer in OBCs at Rs.4.5 lakh as decided by the Centre

The R. Rajendra Babu Commission, appointed by the State government to suggest norms for identifying the creamy layer among Other Backward Communities (OBCs) and ensuring that they received the benefits, has asked the government to amend the State service rules to prevent merit quota vacancies going to OBCs from getting adjusted against the reservation quota assigned to them.
Briefing presspersons after handing over the final report of the commission to Minister for Welfare of Backward and Scheduled Communities and Electricity A.K. Balan here on Tuesday, Mr. Rajendra Babu said the commission had recommended to the government to amend the Kerala State and Subordinate Services Rules, 1958 to ensure that 50 per cent of all reported vacancies were treated as merit quota vacancies and any vacancy that went to an OBC candidate from the merit quota was not adjusted against the reservation quota available to the OBCs. The latter had been complaining that they were losing a number of posts as a result of merit quota vacancies getting adjusted against their reservation quota.
The commission recommended to the government to fix the income base for determining the creamy layer in OBCs at Rs.4.5 lakh as decided by the Centre earlier and not to club income from salaries and agricultural land. The commission had, in its interim report submitted late last year, raised the income base from the earlier Rs.2.5 lakh to Rs.4.5 lakh and the present recommendation was a confirmation of that. The increase in base level income that would determine whether a family belonged to the creamy layer or not, he said, has been recommended taking into account the economic growth, change in money value, cost of living index, increase in per capita, national and State incomes and the consumer price index.
Source: The Hindu

Supreme Court seeks response from Kerala government on creamy layer

The Supreme Court on Thursday sought response from the Kerala Government on its decision to raise the income ceiling for the 'creamy layer' among OBCs from Rs 2.5 lakh to Rs 4.5 lakh.

A bench headed by Chief Justice K G Balakrishnan issued notice to the state government on a petition filed by Kerala-based Nair Service Society challenging the notification in this regard. The Society said without determining the criteria, the state government raised the income ceiling giving reference of a similar decision taken by the Centre which has been challenged in the apex court.

It said it would have been appropriate for the Kerala Government to appoint an independent Commission for dwelling on the issue of the creamy layer.

The bench tagged the petition with another petition which in October last year had challenged the Centre's decision to raise the income ceiling for the creamy layer. Some of the anti-quota petitioners had alleged that the Union Cabinet's decision to raise the income was aimed at defeating the apex court.

It was submitted that the Cabinet's decision was arbitrary as the apex court on 23rd February, 2007 had set aside the report of a Commission from Kerala recommending raising upto Rs 3 lakh the upper limit of annual income for the creamy layer.

The court had set aside the report of Justice K K Narendran Commission appointed by the Kerala Government which was challenged by the Nair Service Society. The Narendran Commission was appointed by the state government after the Supreme Court had accepted the report of another Commission led by Justice K J Joseph which had recommended Rs 2.5 lakh annual income as the upper limit for the creamy layer.
Source: DDI News