MUMBAI, May 20 -- The state government is likely to recommend a raise in the Other Backward Classes (OBC) creamy layer from the current Rs.8 lakh per annum to Rs.15 lakh per annum. In effect, this means that an OBC person earning up to Rs.1.25 lakh per month will be considered underprivileged and entitled to reservations in education and jobs. State revenue minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule, who heads the cabinet sub-committee on OBCs, announced this in a meeting on Tuesday. The sub-committee made the recommendation on the basis of the long-standing demand by OBCs to revise the income limit for reservation eligibility (the 'creamy layer', by a Supreme Court ruling, cannot avail of reservations). Bawankule said he would soon meet chief minister Devendra Fadnavis regarding the future course of his panel's recommendation. The sub-committee also announced that a proposal had been submitted to the National Commission for Backward Classes for the inclusion of 43 new castes which are currently not part of the Central OBC list. The meeting was attended by ministers Chhagan Bhujbal, Ganesh Naik, Gulabrao Patil, Sanjay Rathod and Atul Save, along with senior officials from various departments. Meanwhile, the government has decided to seek legal opinion on its recent decision to disallow SC/ST/OBC candidates who had earlier used reservation benefits from applying in the open category even if they scored higher on merit. The cabinet note on this stated that reservation in government jobs in Maharashtra had touched 72 per cent, and it was not a "level-playing field" if candidates who were given relaxations in eligibility criteria also accessed open category seats. The issue came up on Tuesday when the file to confirm the minutes of the last cabinet meeting came before Sanjay Rathod, who belongs to the OBC Banjara community. "I came to know about several Supreme Court orders that are not in favour of such a decision," Rathod said while speaking to reporters. "Therefore, I decided to raise the issue in the cabinet meeting. I requested the CM and deputy CM to reconsider the policy. After listening to my points, the CM said that the government would seek the opinion of the advocate-general on the matter."...