Chandigarh, Aug. 6 -- The Centre on Tuesday extended the Haryana Backward Classes (Reservation in Services and Admission in Educational Institutions) Act, 2016, to Chandigarh to provide reservation to backward classes in government jobs and educational institutions. The Haryana law was extended to Chandigarh with certain modifications, the most important being substituting the list of Haryana backward classes with the central list of OBCs. The move is an outcome of a Supreme Court (SC) directive to the Centre to implement reservation in educational institutions for other backward classes (OBCs) in the city. As per the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) August 5 notification, 27% reservation shall be provided to OBCs in admissions under the union territory pool in all the higher educational, technical or medical institutions working under the control of Chandigarh and the central government-aided institutions who are getting grant-in-aid from the UT. The reservation will be implemented over a staggered period of six years starting with 3% in the first year, 4% each in second and third year, 5% each in fourth and fifth year and 6% in the sixth year. The reservation for OBCs in government jobs will also be 27%, the notification says. About 60 categories of caste, as per the central list of OBCs, will be entitled for this reservation in jobs and educational institutions. The Union government exercised its powers under Section 87 of the Punjab Reorganisation Act, 1966, which empowers it to extend any enactment which is in force in a state with certain modifications and restrictions to Chandigarh. The SC had on July 30 ordered that the OBC reservation in Chandigarh would be applicable to the counselling process from the 2025-26 academic year. "We direct the administrator, UT of Chandigarh, to provide for 3% reservation for 2025-26 academic year, which will be increased in the staggered manner till it reaches 27%. The reservation would be applicable wherever the admission process has not yet commenced i.e. the counselling has not yet started," the SC said. The apex court also said that OBC quota would be provided from 2026-27 academic year wherever the admission process has been completed. The apex court in its July 22 order had said that since the Centre has approved the proposal for providing 27% reservation to the OBC (non-creamy layer) candidates, they see no reason as to why it should not be implemented forthwith by the Chandigarh administration....