Pawar opposes filling up government jobs on contractual basis

He says the decision goes against the policy of reservation for backward communities in government jobs

Mumbai: While the issue of reservation to various communities in government jobs and education is back in focus with agitations of Maratha and other communities, NCP chief Sharad Pawar has vehemently opposed the state government’s decisions to outsource government jobs and fill vacant posts on contractual basis. Pawar has said that this will deny opportunities to the socially backward communities, who will be deprived of the benefit of reservation.

The issue assumes significance in the backdrop of agitations demanding reservation by several communities such as Maratha, OBC and Dhangar. The state government has sought time from the Maratha and Dhangar communities to fulfill their demands for reservation in 40 days and 50 days respectively (Anshuman Poyrekar/ HT PHOTO)

On Friday, Pawar said the alliance government’s decision will end reservation for Scheduled Castes (SC), Scheduled Tribes (ST) and Other Backward Classes (OBC) communities in government jobs, which would be an injustice to the communities.

The issue assumes significance in the backdrop of agitations demanding reservation by several communities such as Maratha, OBC and Dhangar. The state government has sought time from the Maratha and Dhangar communities to fulfill their demands for reservation in 40 days and 50 days respectively.

Marathas are demanding restoration of their reservation that was scrapped by the Supreme Court; the Dhangar community wants them to be incorporated as Scheduled Tribes that would increase their quota to 7% from the existing 3.5 as Nomadic Tribes.

While all these agitations are happening across the state, the jobs in the government are being outsourced to contractual staff.

In September, the state government issued an order to outsource around 75,000 jobs covering Class I to Class III officers from nine private agencies. The firms will hire employees on a contractual basis and will get a commission of 15% of the payment approved for each post.

To address the scarcity of constables in Mumbai, the state government in July decided to recruit 3,000 personnel from the Maharashtra State Security Corporation (MSSC) on contract for 11 months. The MSSC works as the official security agency providing security to government and semi-government establishments.

Referring to the recent deaths of children in government hospitals, Pawar said, “To deal with the problem, the government has declared to fill vacancies even in hospitals on contractual basis.”

“The recruitment decision on contract basis has no provision for SC, ST, OBC and women reservation. This will be an injustice,” the veteran leader stressed.

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Jarange Patil’s grand rally today

Maratha activist Manoj Jarange Patil, who shot to fame for his hunger strike demanding reservation for Marathas, is set to hold a huge rally at Antarvali Sarathi village in Jalna on Saturday. It is the same village where he went on his indefinite hunger strike. A 100-acre plot has been reserved for the public and another 80-acre land has been designated only for car parking. The people from the Maratha community have started gathering at the village from Friday. Jarange Patil has recently concluded his 12-day statewide tour to mobilize the community on the demand for reservation.