Odisha sets up panel to pave way for backward class quota in panchayat polls. Four years after Odisha dropped reservation for backward classes in panchayat and urban local body elections due to legal hurdles, the state govt on Wednesday constituted a commission headed by retired Orissa High Court judge Justice Pramath Patnaik to study the political backwardness of socially and educationally backward classes (SEBCs), a key step towards restoring quota for the community in local.