Plan to reserve building dept works for locals

Ranchi: In a decision aimed at boosting local level employment, chief minister Hemant Soren on Wednesday approved reserving works (projects) up to Rs 25 crore in the state building construction department and its allied entities for contractors based in Jharkhand. Soren has directed the department officials to place this proposal before the cabinet for implementation.
In a statement, Soren said, “The government is working out various means to shore up employment generating avenues for people of this state, many of whom are hit due to the lockdown. Along with attempts to absorb people in government-sponsored jobs, we are also exploring avenues to provide employment to our people in the private sector.”
Explaining the clause for reservations, building construction department officials said entities who wish to participate in the tendering process must be registered in Jharkhand. “In case of any entity running in partnership mode, either of the partner should be registered in the state,” said an official. “In case two local companies/entities quote the same rates during bidding, we will give weightage to whether he is an ST/SC and so on as per the prescribed reservation rules.”
He added that with realty/construction sector having immense potential to generate direct and indirect jobs, the government is in the process of identifying department-wise works that can be reserved for local builders for job creation and building assets.
On the other hand, the Jharkhand State Livelihood Promotion Society (JSLPS) has informed that so far they have mapped the skill sets of 4.5 lakh migrants of the around 7 lakh who returned to Jharkhand due to the lockdown. JSLPS, a wing of the state rural development department, has been entrusted to prepare a database of migrants on the basis of their skills to provide employment opportunities in their home state.