With 1,032 posts lying vacant as of 1 July 2024 and inadequate representation — only 10.65 percent SC and 2.92 percent ST representation in government departments as of 2016 — the need for swift action becomes imperative.
Published Aug 30, 2024 | 12:00 PM ⚊ Updated Aug 30, 2024 | 12:00 PM
The Vidhan Soudha
Even as the Karnataka government moves ahead with its plan to implement internal reservation for Scheduled Castes (SC) and Scheduled Tribes (ST), two critical issues continue to plague the state’s efforts to ensure equitable representation: Filling the significant backlog of reserved posts and implementing promotions based on reservation.
With 1,032 posts lying vacant as of 1 July 2024 and inadequate representation — only 10.65 percent SC and 2.92 percent ST representation in government departments as of 2016 — the need for swift action becomes imperative.
Yet, despite the Supreme Court’s endorsement of sub-classification and the state’s own Reservation Act of 2018, progress remains slow. Dissent from certain castes threatens to complicate the implementation further.
While certain castes are upbeat over the Supreme Court judgement on sub-classification, others oppose the internal reservation.
Banjara, Koracha, Bhovi, and other castes demand the government to carry out socio-economic and education surveys before implementing internal reservations.
The backlog of 1,032 vacancies in various government departments, boards, corporations, and universities reveals significant disparities in SC and ST representation.
Click to enlarge.
According to reports, the overall representation of SCs/STs in all departments — in comparison to total posts sanctioned — was 10.65 percent and 2.92 percent, respectively till 2016, stressing the need for adequate representation.
Before 2001, the total vacancy backlog was 567 (331 for SC and 236 for ST). Notably, the Higher Education sector accounts for a substantial number of these vacancies, with government colleges and aided colleges collectively contributing to the backlog.
Vacancies identified after 2001 total 283, with 120 for SC and 163 for ST. The primary and secondary education sectors show a notable backlog, particularly in aided colleges and high schools.
Earlier, a move by the previous Basavaraj Bommai government to implement internal reservations for 101 SC/ST communities received severe backlash.
Opposing the internal reservation, the Bhovi and Banjara communities, backed by Koramas and Korachas, staged protests and even pelted stones at the residence of former chief minister and BJP veteran BS Yediyurappa at Shikaripura on 28 March 2023.
The opposing castes pointed out that they have been sub-categorised as ‘SC Touchables’ but were not given adequate representation when the government increased the reservation for SCs from 15 percent to 17 percent.
The BJP government had announced six percent reservation to SC left sub-category, 5.5 percent to SC right, 4.5 percent to ‘Touchables’ (Banjara, Bhovi, Korama and Koracha), and one percent to others. It was recommended to the central government based on the Justice AJ Sadashiva Commission report.
It may be noted that the earlier BJP government had already increased the reservation in education and jobs for SCs from 15 percent to 17 percent and three percent to seven percent for STs.
Despite the then-government making the recommendation to the Centre, the Union government did not amend the laws to favour internal reservation.
However, the Supreme Court’s historic judgement permitting the state governments the sub-classification of SC/ST to implement internal reservation cleared the legal hurdles.
Despite clearing the hurdles and a change in the state government, the dissenting castes – Banjara, Bhovi, Korama, and Koracha — continued to oppose internal reservation, demanding a socio-economic and education resurvey of communities. The opposition has become the biggest challenge for the Siddaramaiah government in implementing internal reservations.
“We continue to oppose internal reservation because, mainly because the government has not accorded adequate reservation for so-called ‘Touchables’, which is classified as per the Sadashiva Commission. Our community will oppose this commission report, which is yet to be made public,” Banjara community leader senior Congress MLC Prakash Rathod told South First.
“The dissenting castes, including Banjaras, have held talks with the chief minister and Congress high command on the current reservation formula. The decision to provide six percent reservation for SC (left) appears to be very abstract and illogical,” he pointed out.
“We demand the government either to set up a fresh commission or conduct a socio-economic and education survey to assess the situation of all castes that fall under the SC/ST before the implementation of the internal reservation,” Rathod said, adding that the demand has been placed before the government.
“There has been a lot of confusion ever since the apex court permitted the state government to implement internal reservation. Will this internal reservation also apply to the central government jobs and PSUs? Is it only confined to the state,” he asked.
Apart from the opposition from certain castes, various others have demanded the government immediately stop all ongoing recruitment processes until the implementation of internal reservation.
Dalit activist Ambanna Arolikar felt the state government was not facing many challenges. “When the previous government recommended the internal reservation to the Centre, there were challenges including the lack of willingness from the Union government to amend Article 341 of the Constitution,” he told South First.
“Now, the Supreme Court has delivered a historic judgement on sub-classification of the SCs and STs. The government should implement it immediately,” he said.
“Internal reservation is the need of the hour as it ensures justice to 101 SC/ST communities. It also serves social justice and upliftment of the deprived and oppressed castes within the SC/STs. The government must first implement and then worry about the possible legal hurdles,” Arolikar opined.
Karnataka Madiga Political Forum member L Hanumanthaiah said his community has been demanding internal reservation for the past three decades. “The governments used to claim that there is no provision in the Constitution. Now, the Supreme Court itself has given its nod to the state governments for the sub-classification of SC/ST.”
“The government has to implement reservation based on the population of each caste. The Madiga community has announced its full support,” he said.
“Considering the available data, the government has to implement it at the earliest possible. If any of the castes feel that they have been meted out injustice, then the government should set up a commission and address the issues,” Hanumanthaiah said.
Despite Karnataka issuing a Government Order (GO) on 28 December 2022 on promotions based on reservation for SC/STs, the government appears to be executing it at a snail’s pace.
The Supreme Court upheld the validity of the 2018 Reservation Act, which introduced consequential seniority for SC/ST candidates in Karnataka public employment on 10 May 2019.
This Act allows reserved-category candidates to retain seniority over general-category peers, even if they are promoted earlier due to reservation. In essence, consequential seniority reverses the ‘catch-up rule’ that previously enabled general category candidates to catch up with reserved category candidates.
The 2018 Reservation Act, officially known as “The Karnataka Extension of Consequential Seniority to Government Servants Promoted based on Reservation (to the Posts in the Civil Services of the State) Act 2018”, was enacted following the Supreme Court’s earlier judgment in BK Pavitra I (2017).
In this judgement, the court struck down the Reservation Act, 2002, citing the state’s failure to provide compelling evidence justifying the consequential seniority policy. The court granted Karnataka three months to take further action.
In response, Karnataka established the Ratna Prabha Committee to submit a quantitative report demonstrating the three criteria: Current backwardness of SC/STs, cadre-wise representation of SC/STs in government departments, and the effect on administrative efficiency due to reservation in promotion.
Based on the committee’s report, Karnataka passed the 2018 Reservation Act, which provides for reservation in promotion under Section 3 and Section 4 validates consequential seniority, backdated to 24 April 1978.
“There are no legal hurdles to implement it because the apex court has already upheld the state’s reservation act. All departments are preparing the seniority roster. It is being implemented as per the GO issued in 2022,” a senior Social Welfare Commissionerate official told South First, requesting anonymity.
Karnataka State SC/ST Government Employees’ Association president D Shivashankar felt the government seemed not keen on filling the SC/ST vacancies and providing reservation-based promotions.
“As per the laws, there has to be 24 percent SC/ST workforce in all the departments, but it is also not implemented effectively. If the government had maintained the seniority roster since the beginning then there would have been no issues or animosity between the communities,” he said.
(Edited by Majnu Babu)
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