Gurgaon: Jat forum raises objections on reservation data

The members of panel have questioned the data collected by a private agency

The All India Jat Intellectual Forum (AIJIF) has raised objections against a survey conducted by the Haryana Backward Classes Commission (HBCC) for collecting data that would be used to grant reservation to the Jat community, and five others.

Members of All India Jat Intellectuals Forum during a press conference in Gurgaon on Saturday. (Sanjeev Verma/HT PHOTO)

The members have questioned, among other things, the reliability of data that was collected online by a private agency on behalf of the state government.

Stating that a large number of discrepancies were observed in the given list of caste-wise data in backward classes 1 and 2, AIJIF vice-president Neelam Chaudhary said, “The total population of Haryana is approximately 2.50 crores and nearly 1.2 crore people have voter ID cards. However, only 537 people participated in the online survey. How this can be justified as a quantifiable data collected by the HBCC?”

Earlier, the Forum had challenged the format used for data collected through a PIL in the court, following which it was suitably changed. However, in a press conference held on Saturday, the AIJIF said the Commission has failed to use the data collected after the format was updated.

“A realignment of caste equations should be recommended in the BC-1 and 2. The list is in conflict over a share of the reservation pie,” Chaudhary said.

The survey in question was conducted by the state government after the Punjab and Haryana high court upheld the state law ensuring 10% reservation for Jats and five other communities but stayed its implementation till the HBCC finalises the quantum.

The Forum members said they will submit their objections before the Commission on February 7.

On December 30, AIJIF had emailed its objections and suggestions to the Commission, and on January 10, sent letters to this effect to the PMO, CMO and the HBCC.

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Meanwhile, Chaudhary said that besides ensuring reservation in education and government jobs, the state must expose the youth to opportunities in the private sector as well. To guide the youth and to provide them with more job opportunities, the AIJIF plans to open digital libraries-cum-information job centers at the block-level.

“We have received requests from different blocks to open job information centres and people have provided places for free to run it,” AIJIF president Somvir Arya said.

The Forum will first open centres in Gurgaon, Sapla, Bhiwani, Bahadurgarh and Charki Dadri.

Objections:

Reliability of data provided by privates stakeholders as only 537 people participated in the survey

Questioned the poor response to the survey from a voting population of 1.2 people in Haryana

Questions why govt submitted data of only 2.41 lakh employees against total 3.2 lakh employees

No mentioned base year for the survey; asks for base year of data on employees and their percentage in government jobs; base year of population for proportional representation

Questions non-involvement of the department of economic and statistical analysis