SURAJ NANDREKAR
suraj@herald-goa.com
PANJIM: The government has granted another 10 per cent reservations to Economically Weaker Sections (EWS), even as there is a clamour from various quarters for abolishing reservations, taking the overall reservations in the State to 50 per cent.
As on date Goa has six reserved categories – Scheduled Caste (2), Scheduled Tribe (12), Other Backward Classes (22), Economically Weaker Section (10), Freedom Fighters (2) and Handicap (2) – taking the total to 50 per cent.
On Friday, the State government ordered all its departments, public sector undertakings and educational institutions to implement 10 per cent reservation for EWS in jobs and education. Chief Minister Pramod Sawant’s cabinet had last week passed a resolution to implement the 10 per cent quota for the EWS in government jobs and education in the State, besides the existing reservations.
The constitutional amendment to provide the 10 per cent quota was approved by Parliament in January this year and it later received the assent of President Ram Nath Kovind.
Chief Minister Pramod Sawant said that the government has laid different parameters for being eligible for the EWS category. “The State government has already launched a survey to find out how many people would benefit from the legislative amendment to provide quota to EWS in the general category,” he told Herald.
While the chief minister has implemented the Central scheme, the general
category which includes the middle, upper middle class and the upper class is left with just 50 per cent.
“The issue is not much in recruitment but in education. Consider a general class student being denied a seat in professional college with 85 per cent and a reserved category student gets it with 50 per cent. Is this not injustice?” asked a senior official in the State government who did not want to be named.
He further wondered what would happen if this student becomes a doctor. “Consider what would be their standard. It means 50 per cent of doctors produced in institutions are ineligible for even admission considering the competition today.”
Former Union Law Minister Ramakant Khalap says that although decades have passed with reservations there has been little change in the living or economic conditions of the reserved category. “Now there is a growing discontent amongst the general category about the benefits to the reserved category which can no longer be ignored,” he said.
Khalap also said the government has to look at a cut off date when reservations would end. “Our president Ramnath Kovind said that by 2025 India will become a $ 5 trillion economy and if that happens I think we would not need any reservations. So let us look at 2025 as a cut off date,” he said.
Adv Cleofato Almeida Coutinho says the EWS was just to please the upper class and with election trend it seemed to have worked during elections. “Even if the reservations in Goa have reached 50 per cent, the number has gone to 59.5 per cent nationally, as SCs get 7.5, STs 15 and OBC 27 per cent and if you add this 10,” he said.
Coutinho also said that the EWS would not be permanent as it is bound to be struck down by the Supreme Court. “The matter has been challenged in SC and hearings would be held now,” he stated.
Sayed Manzoor Kadri stated that the Muslim community will have to wait before reacting to the reservation policy. “Right now it is only a cabinet decision and no official notification has been issued. We will have to wait for the notification before looking at the implications.”
When pointed out that since the reservation is for people from general category and as such Muslims will benefit, he said “This is what the media has reported but in reality the execution will be based as per the notification. There are several clauses regarding not just income but also ownership of land, etc. Secondly the condition of income is not yet clear, whether it is family income or what clauses have been added to them too. So it is better to wait for an official document before jumping the gun.”
