Hyderabad: As a Dasara gift to tribals comprising 10 percent of the State population in Telangana, the State government has increased reservations for Scheduled Tribes from 6 percent to 10 per cent, with effect from October 1.

Following the Government Order, the hiked reservations will be applicable in educational institutions and government jobs. A few years ago, the bill to enhance reservations for tribals in the State was passed by the Telangana State Legislative Assembly and it was sent to the Union government for the Presidential assent. However, the bill was kept in the cold storage by the Centre.

As the Centre reportedly did not pay heed to the State government and tribals pleas, the Chief Minister KCR had recently announced his decision that the TRS government will implement the enhanced reservations to ensure justice to tribals and accordingly, the orders were issued on Friday evening.

The total reservations in Tamil Nadu have crossed the 50 percent limit and went up to 69 per cent in 1994. However, it has ignored Telangana’s repeated requests. Sources said the Centre has also provided the Constitutional sanctity by including these hiked reservations of Tamil Nadu in Schedule 9 of the Indian Constitution.

The KCR government is learnt to have taken this decision after carefully examining the Supreme Court ruling on the reservation cap of 50 percent. It also appeared to have studied the Indra Sawhney case in which the apex court ruled that in “special circumstances”, the reservations could surpass the specified limit.

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Since the tribal population is more in Telangana and despite the government’s welfare measures including increasing tribal residential schools for upliftment of tribals, they continue to reel under extreme poverty and backwardness due to decades of oppression and negligence, therefore, the State government has taken the decision to enhance the reservation as all these factors fulfill the “special circumstance” clause mandated by the Apex Court.