Cabinet sub-panel to study SC order on SC/ST promotions

The state Cabinet on Wednesday constituted a sub-committee to decide on the state government’s next step of action following the Supreme Court recently striking down the consequential seniority in promotions awarded to SC/ST employees.

Briefing reporters after the meeting, Law Minister T B Jayachandra said the sub-committee will submit its recommendations within 10 days. The Supreme Court has set August 9 as the deadline to implement its order which states that all consequential promotions given to the SC/STs under the provisions of the Karnataka Determination of Seniority of the Government Servants Promoted on the Basis of Reservation (To the Posts in the Civil Services of the State) Act, 2002 will be null and void. Among others, the Cabinet sub-panel will examine the possibility of taking the Ordinance route to circumvent the Supreme Court order.

Jayachandra said the sub-committee will also go through a report submitted by Additional Chief Secretary Ratna Prabha on the issue.

The apex court in February had held that proportionate representation of posts for SC/STs is not sufficient to grant promotion. Implementing the Supreme Court order will result in demotions of hundreds of SC/ST employees who have been promoted as per the provisions of the said Act. A review petition filed by the state government challenging the order is pending before the Supreme Court.

 According to official sources, the Ratna Prabha report states that of the 7,45,593 government employees in 31 departments as many as 79,401 (10.65%) were from the SC community and 21,767 (2.92%) were from the ST community. This is less than the entitled quota fixed for the SC (15%) and the ST employees (3%). Only the Public Works Department had the SC employees more than the fixed quota (15.15%), the report states. However, the report does not make any specific recommendation to the government, the sources said.

Jayachandra said the sub-committee will make its recommendation after studying the legal opinion provided by former Chief Justice of India T S Thakur and former Supreme Court judge V Gopala Gowda.

In another decision, the Cabinet gave its approval for construction of Dr B R Ambedkar Spoorty Soudha in Sampangiramagar, Bengaluru at a cost of Rs 23.35 crore to bring different offices coming under the purview of Social Welfare department under a single roof.

Eagleton land to be regularised
The Cabinet approved a proposal to regularise 77.29 acres of government land encroachment upon by Eagleton Golf Resort near Bidadi, off Bengaluru-Mysuru national highway, by collecting Rs 982.7 crore. The Supreme Court had ordered that the encroachment can be regularised by collecting the market value of the land. A Cabinet sub-committee had fixed the market price of the 77.29 acres at Rs 982.7 crore. The resort run by Chamundeshwari Build Tech Private Limited has been given one month to pay the fee failing which the encroached land will be recovered, Jayachandra said.