The Uttarakhand Cabinet on Wednesday authorised Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami to bring an ordinance on reservation to women of the state in government jobs.
The move comes in the wake of the Uttarakhand High Court's stay on a government order giving 30 per cent reservation to women who has the domicile of Uttarakhand.
The Uttarakhand government has already filed a special leave petition in the Supreme Court against the the high court's stay. Reservation to women of Uttarakhand in the 'Mahila category' gives them the advantage of having a lower cut-off marks for qualifying in state civil services examinations in comparison to women in the general or unreserved category.
In an affidavit filed in the Uttarakhand High Court on Tuesday, the state government justified the reservation given to women having domicile of the state, saying 85 per cent of the state's geographical area is mountainous where there is a shortage of job opportunities. Men are forced to migrate to the plains or outside the state to make a living and the women are left behind to fend for themselves and their families, it said.
The petition on which the high court stay was given contended that it was violative of Article 16(3) of the Constitution. No state government can give reservation on the basis of birth and permanent residence, the petition said, seeking cancellation of reservation given under the category to women from Uttarakhand.
(Published 12 October 2022, 17:22 IST)
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