Illustration by Deepak Harichandan
Credit: DH Illustration
For athletes struggling for employment despite bringing glory to the state and country, the government's promise of job reservation in the Karnataka Forest Department (KFD) has only led to more frustration, thanks to the red tape that has prevented the notification of the order.
In 2020, the State government recognised the long-pending demand of the sportspersons and announced 2 per cent job reservation in the police department. This was further extended to the Karnataka Forest Department (KFD) in 2021 announced by the then Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai.
While the 2 per cent allocation came into effect in the police force following a final notification on March 3rd of 2021, hundreds of sportspersons hoping to land a job in the forest department have been denied the opportunity as the government is yet to notify the sports quota.
The Siddaramaiah government, meanwhile, increased the quota from 2 per cent to 3 per cent in both the departments in the budget tabled on July 7.
“The government has not issued a gazette notification of the scheme introduced by the ex CM Bommai or the announcement made about its upgrade in the budget last month,” a senior official in the KFD said on condition of anonymity.
“The cadre and recruitment (C&R) rules of the department can be modified only when we receive an official government order which will enable us to set aside the said provision to recruit sportspersons for various posts such as forest guard (beat forester), forest watcher and DRFO’s (Deputy Forest Range Officer).”
The police and forest departments have been the biggest government sector recruiters of sportspersons for several decades in Karnataka. According to sources, around 84 athletes (70 constables, 14 sub-inspectors) from various disciplines have benefitted by the scheme in the state’s police set-up since 2021.
However, the KFD has conducted three recruitment drives specially for sports - one in 1993 followed by the next two in 2015 and 2018 - but no recruitment has taken place in the department post 2020, insists the official.
“The government had given us special permission to employ 125 sportspersons who have excelled at the State/ National level which was a one-time dispensation. The first time we undertook the initiative in 2015, about 60-70 athletes got employed. The second time (in 2018) was to fill the balance and about 30-40 were selected,” added the official.
A steady job serves as a social and economic security for athletes whose sporting careers are short-lived. But those trying to reap the benefits promised by the government are mostly made to play the waiting game due to the lacklustre attitude of the government and various departments.
An athlete who joined KFD through the 2015 recruitment drive said: “These promises are made and reiterated by ministers and chief ministers but hardly anyone in the department is aware of its procedures and none has clarity on the details."
"There are so many from the State’s sporting community waiting for job opportunities. Bommai had also promised to extend the 2 per cent sports quota reservation to all government departments in one of the events in 2022. The last we heard was a file regarding the same is left unattended to in the DPAR (Department of Personnel and Administrative Reforms). Why are we made to beg for jobs even after toiling hard to win medals?,” questioned a basketball player, among several others, waiting to apply for a government sector job.
Forest, Ecology and Environment Minister Eshwar B Khandre said he will take up the issue. "It is our priority to encourage sportspersons who strive to bring laurels to the State. I will look into the reasons for the delay. I will also study the rules and procedures adopted by the police department to understand the best practices," Khandre told DH.