New job policy junked by HC, Jharkhand govt ready with ‘reworked’ old one
As per the previous policy, 50% of seats are reserved for locals by the virtue of reservations to Scheduled Tribe (ST), Scheduled Caste (SC) and Other Backward Classes (OBC) categories
In a bid to restart the stalled recruitment process, chief minister Hemant Soren-led Jharkhand government is set to bring back its old (prior to the 2016) policy, with some changes in favour of locals, more than two months after the Jharkhand high court scrapped the state’s new employment policy, people aware of the development said.
The draft of the new employment policy has been finalised and it is likely to be tabled in the cabinet meeting for approval soon, said the people.
Also Read: Jharkhand budget session: Soren govt has zero tolerance against corruption, says Governor
“We can’t reveal details as it is to be cleared by the cabinet and also the budget session is underway,” said a senior official, not willing to be named.
In the reworked policy, the quota level would go up to 60%, with an addition to a 10% reservation for the general Economically Weaker Section (EWS) category. 40% would remain open, but aspirants might be asked to give a declaration about their domicile, the official added.
“To ensure locals get preference or at least have an advantage, the course structure for the examinations could include papers testing aspirants in the local language and culture,” added the official.
Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) legislator Sudivya Kumar, considered close to the chief minister, said the government’s new policy is based on the feedback it received from job aspirants during a recent telephonic survey.
“This government is committed to providing jobs to the state’s youth. The CM announced in the assembly that the government would make the law in the interest of the students. The government conducted a telephonic survey and students have given their feedback. I can assure that the government would come up with the policy in the ongoing budget session. No aspirant would be allowed to suffer,” said Kumar.
The state government had last month sent recorded voice calls to job aspirants in the state seeking their opinion on whether the state should start the recruitment process as per the “old employment policy” or wait till they are able to come up with their own version.
Also Read: Khyatian, OBC reservation bills insulated from judicial scrutiny: Jharkhand govt
As per the data released about this survey by the information & public relations department, the state government reached out to 7,33,921 job aspirants for their feedback. The government claimed 73% of these respondents said that the state should immediately start the recruitment process based on the policy that was prevalent prior to 2016, while 16% opposed the idea. 11% remained undecided, the statement said.
On December 16 last year, the Jharkhand high court struck down the employment policy brought in by the Soren-led government in 2021, which amended the Jharkhand Staff Selection Commission (JSSC) examination rules, making passing class 10th and 12th from a school in Jharkhand mandatory for job aspirants belonging to the general category to apply for grade III & IV jobs.
In the new policy, the Jharkhand government had also reserved 100% of grade III & IV jobs for locals in 13 of the 14 districts which fall under Schedule V of the constitution, a special provision meant to safeguard the rights of tribals.