Bhubaneswar: Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan has written to Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi, urging his personal intervention for the early reconstitution of the Odisha State Commission for Backward Classes (OSCBC), which has remained non-functional after the completion of its tenure on January 3, 2024.

In his letter issued on Monday, Pradhan pointed out that the OSCBC has become functus officio due to the absence of appointed members, resulting in the lack of a statutory mechanism to address the concerns of Socially and Educationally Backward Class (SEBC) communities in the state.

Highlighting that Odisha is home to as many as 216 SEBC communities constituting a significant portion of the state’s population, the Union Minister said these communities continue to face challenges in accessing equitable opportunities in education, employment, and welfare schemes. In the absence of a functioning Commission, they are deprived of a formal platform to raise grievances and seek redressal, he noted.

Pradhan underlined the crucial role of the OSCBC in examining requests for inclusion of communities in the SEBC list, addressing grievances, and advising the government on policy matters.

He also referred to the Odisha State Commission for Backward Classes (Amendment) Act, 2020, under which the Commission has been entrusted with conducting surveys on the social and educational conditions of backward class communities, as decided by the state government.

“In view of the above, I request your personal intervention for the early reconstitution of the Odisha State Commission for Backward Classes, which will uphold the spirit of social justice besides fulfilling the aspirations of the state’s backward communities,” Pradhan stated in the letter.

The Union Minister expressed hope that timely action would ensure statutory representation and safeguard the rights and interests of backward class communities across Odisha.