NEW DELHI : Taking a leaf out of Haryana’ rule book, the Jharkhand government is considering a plan that may ensure reservation for locals in private jobs, said chief minister Hemant Soren in New Delhi on Sunday.
Any such move may have a bearing on private investments in the state, with similar fears been articulated by industry bodies in the case of Haryana.
Speaking to reporters in New Delhi, Soren said that he is committed to providing employment and his government is considering whether to reserve a certain percentage of private jobs for locals, or to provide reservation on the basis of a certain salary criteria.
Haryana State Employment of Local Candidates Act notified earlier this month ensured 75% reservation for local people in private jobs with a monthly salary ceiling of ₹50,000. The quota law states that it must be done within three months else a fine of between ₹25,000-1,00,000 may be levied.
Soren added that Jharkhand government will take a decision after duly considering the options.
This comes in the backdrop of Jharkhand working on an industrial and promotion policy to attract investors to the mineral rich state.
The Haryana government’ move has resulted in a furore, with lobby group Confederation of Indian Industries (CII) stating that reservation in private sector jobs will impact competitiveness.
Soren’ comments come in the backdrop of India conducting the first commercial coal mine auctions wherein mines spread across Jharkhand, Madhya Pardesh, Odisha, Chhattisgarh and Maharashtra were awarded on a revenue-sharing basis.
Soren also spoke about weak finances of the states, that was exacerbated by the coronavirus pandemic that originated in Wuhan, China. According to the 15th Finance Commission report while most states may regain lost ground and reach the pre-pandemic output levels next year, they will remain under strain.
Soren said that in these times, it is increasingly becoming difficult for states such as Jharkhand which are fully dependent on the central government.
The chief minister said that the formula for resource sharing with the central government is arcane, adding that states should get more power to generate revenues. Soren said that if states work on their own, they can generate resources on their own.
When India merged 17 central and state taxes into a single goods and services tax (GST), it was supposed to be a revenue-neutral exercise. However, this hasn’t been the case after a series of GST cuts.
Soren also spoke about the record high transportation fuel prices and the ongoing farmer agitation.
He said that India is an agriculture-centric country, and he was worried about the ongoing farmers' agitation, which has been continuing for more than 100 days with several farmers dying. The agitating farmers have been demanding to roll back the three pro-market agricultural laws.
“We should be proud that we are born in a country where they are honoured," Soren said and added that the farmers' demand is valid.
Soren said petrol and diesel prices are going skywards and added that even when the crude oil prices was low, the petrol and diesel prices were sky high.
Soren’s statements come before the GST Council’s meeting in March. India’s federal indirect taxes body, may also discuss the issue of merging the GST rates of 12% and 18% into a single slab, as reported by Mint earlier. Also, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday had said that the issue of tax burden on petroleum products was something that the Centre and the states have to discuss as both draw revenue from these items.
The cost of the Indian basket of crude, which comprises Oman, Dubai and Brent crude, was at $64.12 a barrel on 4 March. Following the covid outbreak, crude prices had plunged to $19.90 in April before recovering to $61.22 a barrel in February, data from the Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell showed.
“It is reaching a century," Soren said.
The Union government didn’t respond to calls to lower taxes on transportation fuels in the Union budget. In 2020-21, India, the third-largest oil importer globally, had raised taxes on petrol and diesel, through a special additional excise duty, besides road and infrastructure cess.
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