Panel for 100% job quota for Kannadigas in all sectors

 A government appointed panel has recommended 100% reservation for Kannadigas in employment, both in government and private sector with an exception to posts requiring high technical and administrative skills.

The state government in 2015 had constituted a 21-member committee to revise the 30-year-old recommendations of the Sarojini Mahishi Committee to suit the present day needs of providing employment for Kannadigas.

The panel headed by Kannada Development Authority chairman S G Siddaramaiah submitted its report to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah in Bengaluru on Wednesday. The panel in its 80-page report has made 14 recommendations to the state government and seven recommendations to the Centre.

The panel has suggested 100% reservation for Kannadigas in employment, including in the information technology and biotechnology sectors as the companies make use of  the “land, water, power” of the state to carry out their businesses. The panel has recommended that the government should come out with legislation to give statutory status for providing reservation for Kannadigas in the private sector.

Kannadiga means any person born in Karnataka or who has lived in the state for not less than 15 years.

State govt representative

Another major recommendation of the panel is that a representative of the state government be included in the selection panel constituted for recruiting employees in companies having a staff strength of more than 100.

The committee has recommended that a mechanism should be put in place to ensure reservation to Kannadigas in Central government jobs too. All private and nationalised banks should appoint candidates who have passed their SSLC or PUC from the state.  In the Central government offices in the state, 65% reservation for Kannadigas in Group ‘A’ jobs, 80% in Group ‘B’ and ‘C’ and 100% in Group ‘D’ should be provided.

Speaking after receiving the report, the chief minister said the government will take steps to implement the recommendations. “We will consult legal experts and also place the recommendations before the Cabinet for approval,” he said.  Siddaramaiah said he is favour of providing reservation to Kannadigas both in the government and private sectors.

S G  Siddaramaiah said that during the process of preparing the report, the committee consulted 12 pro-Kannada organisations, 24 banks, 129 entrepreneurs, public sector units, among others.

It is unconstitutional, says legal expert

Former advocate general B V Acharya said imposing reservation in the private sector in unlikely to stand the test of law. “In a federal framework, it becomes unconstitutional,” he said.

Acharya said the state government can only request the Centre to provide reservation to Kannadigas in Central government jobs. “But, it will not be binding on the Centre,” he said. Experts said legal hurdles were the main reason why the Sarojini Mahishi recommendations could not be implemented during the last 30 years.

Major recommendations

Subsidies should be provided to Kannadigas for setting up industries
Preference to Kannadigas while allotting sites in urban areas
All interviews while recruiting employees in the government sector should be conducted in Kannada
Karnataka Public Service Commission should conduct all examinations in
Kannada
Bring out ‘Employment News’ in Kannada
Develop an online portal for providing information on employment opportunities in the state