Reservation policy framed before Statehood: KHNAM

The Shillong Times: Shillong: Saturday, 23 January 2016.

An RTI finding has revealed that the State Reservation Policy was adopted in the form of a resolution that dates back to January 12, 1972, prior to the date of achieving statehood.

“The government should have legislated the policy in the Assembly after proper discussions in the cabinet meetings,” Khun Hynniewtrep National Awakening Movement (KHNAM) general secretary Batkupar Wahlang said while speaking to reporters on Friday.

Wahlang pointed out that the policy was implemented without the presence of full-fledged MLAs.

He further said that they will seek more facts and information on the implementation of the reservation   policy following which another meeting will be convened in March to discuss the reservation policy.

KHNAM working president Adelbert Nongrum said that the issue has been pending for the past 44 years, and the intention to bring up the matter was not to create communal conflict.

It may be recalled that KHNAM has demanded review of the job reservation policy claiming that eligible candidates will be deprived of jobs if the policy was not reviewed as it ‘hinders the academics arena’.

The KHNAM leaders referred to the RTI findings and claimed that the State reservation policy has not been reviewed even once by the State government since 1972.

It may be mentioned that as per the policy, 40 per cent of the jobs are reserved for the Khasi-Jaintia tribes, while another 40 per cent is reserved for the Garo people.