SHILLONG, Jan 12: KHNAM legislator from North Shillong, Adelbert Nongrum on Monday said Chief Minister Conrad K. Sangma should revisit the state reservation policy for appointment to various government services and posts besides providing a separate reservation policy for academics and admissions.
In a five-point memorandum submitted to the CM on Wednesday, Nongrum said the reservation policy being implemented since January 12, 1972, is no longer suitable.
“The demography and proportion of the population have considerably changed over the years. The old policy permits leakage of reserved posts to the non-indigenous populace on the basis of linguistics, which does not form part of the exception envisaged under Article 16 (4) of the Constitution of India,” he said.
The policy needs considerable changes for ensuring efficiency in administration, he felt.
“What is most disturbing is that even after 50 years, we have failed to come up with a proper Act that will govern the reservation in appointment(s) within Meghalaya. We still seek to rely on an old, outdated resolution,” Nongrum said.
He added that the state needs to formulate a separate policy for reservation in academics and admissions to ensure proper representation of all socially and educationally backward classes.
“The reservation for academics or admissions should be merit-centric, especially in higher, professional and specialised education. The reservation issues require immediate discussion in the Assembly and a proper law has to be enacted,” he said.
Nongrum said the 40% reservation each for Khasi-Jaintia and Garo communities in jobs may be retained but it should be segregated from the academic reservations.
“In academics, we should have a single Scheduled Tribe reservation of 80% (open to all indigenous STs of Meghalaya) with a separate minimum cut-off in educational qualification for each specialised field,” he said.
He also suggested the need to increase the upper age limit for appointment to various government services or posts from the current 27 years (for general) and 32 years for SCs/STs.
“Most of the services or posts are normally advertised for with a gap of 5-10 years, which means many youths miss the bus and fail to make a second attempt for the examinations. The low upper age limit has caused a lot of distress to our youths,” Nongrum said.
The KHNAM legislator sought early relocation of the residents of the Sweeper’s Colony in Iewduh to reduce the conflict with the surrounding areas. The colony and adjoining areas are within his constituency. “The closure of the road linking Mawlong Hat with Police Bazaar is just one of the major problems adding to the already congested roads of the city. The illegal constructions in the colony and the ongoing unlawful activities in and around it is a cause for concern in the area,” he said.
On the interstate boundary disputes, Nongrum advised the state government to put a mechanism in place to deter Assam from violating the status quo required to be maintained between the two states.
“We should set up outposts in the areas of conflict to ensure law-and-order and deterrence for people from the other side to intrude in Meghalaya,” he said.
He said any celebration of the 50th year of statehood will be meaningless if the boundary issue is not resolved. “Under these circumstances, I call upon the state government to immediately address and resolve the impending issues of immense public importance,” he added, threatening to boycott the golden jubilee celebration if these issues are not resolved.