Days after Haryana, Jharkhand cabinet approves 75% jobs for locals in private sector

Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren (File image: PTI)

Days after the Haryana government notified its job reservation policy for the domiciles of the state, the Jharkhand Cabinet approved an employment policy ensuring 75 percent of the private-sector jobs up to a salary of Rs 30,000 for local candidates only on March 12.

Though there is no official confirmation, Chief Minister Hemant Soren is likely to announce the new policy on March 17 during an Assembly session, reported The Indian Express quoting a source in the Jharkhand Chief Minister’s Office.

“A few modalities are yet to be decided; they will be announced in the Assembly,” the source said.

Earlier, CM Manohar Lal Khattar-led Haryana government had notified its policy of reserving 75 percent jobs in the private sector that offer a monthly salary of less than Rs 50,000 for local people only.

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According to the report, the decision on the new job reservation policy comes days after CM Soren had gone to Delhi to discuss a draft Jharkhand Industrial and Investment Promotion Policy, 2021 with various stakeholders. The state government also signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) on the sidelines of the event, it said.

Several other proposals were also approved during the Cabinet meeting on the day, however, Ministers and officers did not give any details, as per the report.

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The implementation of the proposed job reservations policy for locals could face an operational problem of identifying its beneficiaries, the report said. In 2002, questions around the definition of a Jharkhandi had led to the resignation of Chief Minister Babulal Marandi. After this, the successive governments had refrained from touching the issue, it said.

In 2016, CM Raghubar Das-led government notified a “relaxed domicile policy”, where it listed six ways in which one could be treated as a domicile of the state. However, his policy criticised for not giving priority to tribals, for whom the state was created, the report stated.