Hyderabad, Sept. 27 -- The Telangana government on Friday issued orders providing 42% reservations to the other backward classes (OBCs) in the urban and rural local bodies in the state, four days ahead of the September 30 deadline fixed by the state high court for conducting elections to the local bodies. The government order was issued by backward classes department secretary Jyothi Buddha Prakash, after discussions held by CM A Revanth Reddy with senior cabinet colleagues, officials and legal experts at his residence. According to the order, the government decided to extend 42% reservations to the OBCs based on the caste census conducted in November-December 2024 and findings of the Dedicated Backward Classes Commission, which analysed OBC political representation to justify more reservation and submitted its report on August 28. "The government has also taken into consideration the inadequate political representation of OBCs and concluded that it was necessary to revise the existing level of reservation in local bodies to 42% for their welfare and advancement," it said. The order pointed out that the state legislature passed the Telangana Backward Classes (Reservations of seats in Rural and Urban Local Bodies) Bill, 2025, unanimously on September 1. It said, "In exercise of the powers conferred under the Constitution and based on empirical evidence, legislative sanction, and judicial recognition, and in view of the urgent necessity to ensure the welfare, empowerment, and full participation of backward classes, and to uphold the Constitutional vision of equality, social justice, and inclusive growth, the government hereby orders to provide 42% reservation of the seats and positions in local bodies to the OBCs in Telangana." The order was issued even as the bill passed by the state legislature on 42% quota for OBCs is still pending approval by governor Jishnu Dev Varma. "Since the Telangana high court set a deadline of September 30 for the conduct of local body elections, the government decided to issue an executive order to provide 42% reservations to the OBCs and go for the elections," an official familiar with the development said. According to the official, the State Election Commission has called for a crucial meeting on Saturday to review the conduct of the elections. The meeting is expected to be attended by chief secretary K Ramakrishna Rao, DGP Jitender, and other senior officials. The panchayat raj department has already released the preparatory plan for the rural local body elections. As per the plan, direct elections will be held for 12,760 gram panchayats, 1,12,534 wards, 565 zilla parishad territorial constituencies (ZPTCs), and 5,763 mandal parishad territorial constituencies (MPTC) seats. Following these direct elections, indirect elections will be conducted to choose chairpersons for 565 mandal parishads and 31 district parishads. According to the official, the State Election Commission is likely to release the schedule for the local body elections by Saturday evening....