Shillong, Feb 25: Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma today said that any alterations to the state reservation policy could be subject to judicial review.
Replying to a zero hour notice brought by North Shillong MLA Adelbert Nongrum and short duration discussion by VPP MLA Ardent Miller Basaiawmoit in the house, the Chief Minister said the panel had advised against making further changes to the policy as it might impact legal standings.
“No Policy is perfect and the same is required to be improvised from time to time as is being done in the present case,” Sangma said.
According to the Chief Minister, the panel referenced the original 1972 office memorandum which allocated job reservations of 40 per cent each to the Garo and Khasi-Janitia tribes.
He said that while the distribution of reservations seemed appropriate at the time, the socio-economic dynamics among these tribes have seen considerable change over the last 50 years. Despite these changes, the distinctions among the tribes remain largely unchanged in the committee’s findings, he said.
While the current reservation policy remained in place for 50 years with the Supreme Court guidelines, he reiterated that altering the policy could bring about judicial scrutiny.
He pointed out that the rationale for reservation should prioritise socio-economic backwardness and historical injustices, rather than solely the population numbers of the tribes involved.
Sangma said the committee received requests for benefits to be extended to socio-economically backward religious minorities. However, he stated that the committee could not identify any instance supporting the extension of reservation benefits based solely on religious status.
