On December 23, the Assam government decided to “defer” the 10% reservation for economically weaker sections (EWS) in state government jobs, drawing criticism from opposition parties.
In a notification issued on December 21, the State Personnel Department stated that the EWS quota in direct recruitment for Assam government posts and services has been suspended until further notice.
The same would not apply in cases where vacancies have already been assessed and advertised, and the EWSs category would continue to be used for admissions to educational institutions.
The state government has decided to eliminate the 10% reservation for the EWS category in state government jobs, drawing criticism from the opposition.
It should be noted that the government’s decision contradicts the Supreme Court of India’s decision.
Furthermore, this will be a repercussion of the decision made during the Sarbananda Sonowal-led government in Assam.
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“The pause in the EWS job quota will have no effect on the posts that have already been advertised for, and reservation for the category will continue for admissions in educational institutions,” according to the notification.
According to the Constitution (103rd Amendment) Act 2019, which was passed by Parliament, both the Central and state governments are now able to provide EWS with reservations in government jobs and higher education.
The Act was passed to help the poor who were not covered by the reservation policy for Scheduled Castes (SCs), Scheduled Tribes (STs), and Socially and Educationally Backward Classes (SEBC).
Although it was never mandatory in the states, it gave the state government the option of providing reservations to the EWS for appointment in state government jobs and admission to state government higher educational institutions.
Assam was one of 12 states and union territories to implement a 10% job reservation for the economically disadvantaged. Andhra Pradesh, Delhi, Goa, Gujarat, Jammu and Kashmir, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Mizoram, Telangana, and Uttarakhand are the others.
Meanwhile, the decision of the state’s current government, led by Himanta Biswa Sarma, will be implemented immediately.
According to reports, it will not affect previously published recruitment advertisements.
Following the government’s decision, several opposition leaders have criticized it. Several sections have called it a cost-cutting measure and the government’s mismanagement of funds with financial trouble looming.
The opposition also claimed that the government is attempting to avert a looming financial crisis as a result of the government’s extravagant spending in Assam on construction projects worth thousands of crores.
