Jharkhand Chief Minister Raghubar Das. (Express Photo by Kevin D’Souza)
Two years after it reserved Class III and IV jobs for a period of 10 years in the scheduled areas of Jharkhand for local residents, the state government has now cleared the provision for non-scheduled areas too. The demand for this provision in non-scheduled areas, comprising 11 districts, had come from within the BJP after local residents began protests.
The decision was taken in a cabinet meeting, chaired by Chief Minister Raghubar Das, on Tuesday. “The meeting accepted the main recommendation of the committee constituted for this purpose,” said a senior government official. Only local residents, as defined in the domicile policy declared by the government in April 2016, would get appointments on district level postings of Class III and IV jobs, he added.
In February, the state government had formed a six-member panel to look into the issue following agitations in many non-scheduled areas.
BJP MLA and party’s Chief Whip in the House, Radha Krishna Kishore, who was a member of the panel, said: “The committee was constituted to consider reserving appointments in the non-scheduled districts for 10 years in the Class III and IV jobs. As we began holding meetings, a few other issues came to our notice. That is why the committee gave additional recommendations.”