Jharkhand raises quotas to 77%, with caveat

The Jharkhand Assembly, during a special session in Ranchi on Friday, passed a bill to increase the reservation quota to 77% from 50% at present. Only 23% of jobs will be available for general candidates on merit.

The assembly also passed a bill to identify 1932 as the cutoff year for being called a Jharkhandi. Those having their ancestors registered in land records till 1932 will benefit from the new policy.

Chief Minister Hemant Soren said the legislation will provide relief to the original inhabitants of the state. According to the bill, gram sabhas (village councils) will issue certificates of domicile in recognition of the beneficiaries having local tribal practices.

The Jharkhand Reservation in Vacancies of Posts and Services (Amendment) Bill 2022 raised the quota for reservations in government jobs for Schedule Tribes (ST), Schedule Castes (SC), Extremely Backward Classes (EBC), Other Backward Classes (OBC) and Economically Weaker Sections (EWS) to 77% from 60%.

However, the bill, which was passed by a special session of the assembly, came with the caveat that “the Act shall take effect after it is included in the ninth schedule of the Constitution of India”.

In the proposed reservation, local people belonging to the SC community will get a quota of 12%, STs 28%, EBCs 15%, OBCs 12% and EWS, barring those from the other reserved categories, 10%.