16 Oct 2008, 0413 hrs IST, Akshaya Mukul , TNN

NEW DELHI: The HRD ministry is weighing various options including seeking clarification from the Supreme Court on its order passed on Tuesday asking the government to fill OBC vacancies in central educational institutions with general category candidates.

The moot issue, a highly placed source said, was that October is too late to fill vacancies. He pointed out that last year, the apex court had deferred its final order on OBC reservation in June on the ground that it was too late to implement it.

The second issue on which the HRD ministry could seek clarification relates to implementing the new creamy layer criteria to fill OBC vacancies. "We will ask if the new creamy layer criteria of Rs 4.5 lakh annual income can be used to deal with the vacancies," the source said.

The ministry will also highlight how central educational institutions do not only have vacancies in OBC seats but also in general category. "Most often, vacancies are in courses that have not been opted by students. For instance, certain branches of engineering are not preferred by students, be it OBCs or general," the source said.

For instance, the government had contended in the SC that out of 20 OBC vacancies in IITs, 11 were in architecture and design. IIT-Guwahati had three vacancies, IIT-Kharagpur seven and IIT-Roorkee 10.

In fact, Jawaharlal Nehru University filled 54 OBC seats with students from the general category. It still has 29 vacancies. In more than 50 colleges of Delhi University, there were 1,906 OBC vacancies and university departments had 117 vacancies. "Most of the vacancies in undergraduate courses in DU are in disciplines not preferred by students," the source said.

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