Advocates for the rights of persons with disabilities (PWDs) and Khasi-centric pressure groups have submitted their suggestions for changes to the state’s job reservation policy to the expert committee tasked with considering the subject.
Bethany Society, an organisation that works for the disabled, has raised the 4 percent reservations for PWDs.
In July 2020 the state cabinet approved a 100-point roster system to implement 4 per cent reservation of government jobs for people with benchmark disabilities in accordance with the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act 2016.
Bethany Society secretary Carmo Noronha said that this was raised by the organisation in its submission to the expert committee. Bethany’s opinion is that the reservation should also apply at the district level as per the law and qualifications and the posts for various cadres across the government must be identified and the policy followed.
According to the latest census, disabled Meghalayans make up about 2.1 per cent of the state’s population but Noronha said that this is probably lower than the actual figure as the identification of PWDs can prove difficult, especially those with an intellectual impairment.
Meanwhile, the KSU has suggested that the reservation policy should be on the basis of the latest census of Meghalaya and that 50 per cent of the vacancies should be reserved for the Khasi-Jaintia community and 40 per cent for the Garo community and 5 per cent in favour of other Scheduled Tribes and Scheduled Castes for vacancies at the State level and the remaining 5 per cent to be left as unreserved category to be filled up through direct recruitment.
It also said that if the proposal of 50 per cent reservation for Khasi-Jaintia community and 40 per cent for Garos is to be accepted, there will be a combined reservation of 90 per cent of the posts in favour of Garos, Khasi-Jaintia instead of separate reservation of 50 per cent in favour of Khasi-Jaintia and 40 per cent in favour of Garo, apart from 5 per cent reservation in favour of other Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribe who was the inhabitant of Assam now the other Schedule Caste and Scheduled Tribe in Meghalaya.
Further, the KSU said that as regards the district level posts where the incumbents are not likely to be transferred outside the district of original posting, the reservation should remain as it was embodied in the Resolution No. PER.222/1/132, dated 12th January 1972.
The students’ body further suggested that while selecting candidates to such posts, preference should be given to the local candidates residing permanently in the concerned district in which the vacancies occurred.
“In other word in Garo Hills, the whole combined reservation of 90 per cent will be available to Garo in the absence of any interested candidate belonging to the Khasi-Jaintia community, and in Khasis-Jaintia Hills, the combine reservation of 90 per cent will be available to Khasi-Jaintias in the absence of any interested candidate belonging to the Garo community,” it added.
Similarly, the HYC in its suggestion at the public hearing stated that based on the ratio of population, the reservation should be 50 per cent for Khasi-Jaintia category, 40 per cent for the Garo category and 3 per cent for other Scheduled Tribes (STs) category.
Alternatively, the HYC suggested that for competition amongst STs of the State, 93 per cent combined reservation should be provided to the STs of the State, 2 per cent to the Scheduled Castes and 5 per cent be left as unreserved category.
For the district level posts, the HYC suggested that the combined reservation for STs needs to be retained. “The reservation should be increased to 93 per cent for the STs of the State in a particular district, 2 per cent to the SCs and 5 per cent to the unreserved category,” it said.
“The State reservation policy has clubbed together STs and SCs under one category i.e. other STs and SCs are clubbed together for 5 per cent reservation. We are of the opinion that this is highly illegal and we suggest that this should be done away with and that reservation for other STs and SCs of the State should be categorised as 3 per cent to other STs and 2 per cent to the SCs instead of a combined 5 per cent reservation,” it added.
Stating that the present reservation policy does not provide reservation in scientific services and posts, the HYC said that the meaning of scientific services and posts has to be properly defined and also there is a need to categorise the jobs/services/posts under scientific services and posts.
It also said the reservation in posts and services under public undertakings and government aided institutions needs to be retained.
“The word ‘government aided institution’ which has not been defined in the policy needs to be properly defined. If schools like SSA, adhoc and deficit are included as government aided institutions, we are of the opinion that 93 per cent combined reservation for STs, 2 per cent for SCs and 5 per cent for unreserved category should be followed for recruitment purposes,” the HYC said.
It also said that the present job reservation policy should not be implemented or extended for reservation in admissions into the educational institutions and for pursuing higher studies outside the State on government quota. Further, it suggested the State government to enact a separate legislation for the purpose of reservation in admissions in the educational institutions and for pursuing higher studies outside the State on government quota.
“If the government legislates a separate legislation for this purpose, then we are of the opinion that 93 per cent combined reservation for STs, 2 per cent for SCs and 5 per cent for unreserved category should be followed,” the HYC said.
It also made similar suggestions for the purpose of reservation for teaching staff in fully government institutions and government aided educational institutions in the State.
