10% quota Bill tabled in Uttarakhand Assembly

Dehradun, Feb 21 (IANS) The Uttarakhand government on Thursday tabled a Bill in the state Assembly to provide 10 per cent reservation in government jobs and higher education for economically weaker sections (EWS) in the general category.

The Bill is likely to be passed by the Assembly on Friday.

Tabling the Uttarakhand Public Services (Reservation for Economically Weaker Sections) Bill, 2019, state Parliamentary Affairs Minister Prakash Pant said reservation for EWS would be given to such permanent residents of the state who are not included in the existing reservation schemes for SCs/STs and OBCs.

Pant said the eligibility criteria for such reservation have been included in the Bill as per the central government's Reservation Bill for EWS, which was passed by Parliament last month. Under the Bill, the government will issue certificates to the eligible candidates for availing the reservation benefits.

The provisions of the Bill will not be applied to cases where the selection process was initiated before the commencement of the new provision of 10 per cent reservation for EWS in the general category.

Lauding the Bill, Pant said the new measure will provide security to the weaker sections of the society, which have been marginalised over the years.

The Union Cabinet in January took the decision to provide for 10 per cent quota for people belonging to 'unreserved categories', including Christians and Muslims, in jobs and education with an annual income limit of Rs 8 lakh and land-holding ceiling of about five acres. A Constitution Amendment Bill for the purpose was recently passed by Parliament.