Jobs for locals have remained on paper

While the Constitution makes everyone in India eligible to work anywhere in the country, states have used legal loopholes to frame laws.

Illustration: Uttam Ghosh/Rediff.com

Earlier this month, the governor of Haryana cleared a law passed by the assembly last year that reserves 75 per cent of new jobs with salaries below Rs 50,000 a month for locals.

In June 2019, the newly formed Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy government in Andhra Pradesh had passed a law in the state assembly to reserve 75 per cent of jobs to locals, but it has not been enforced with rigour so far.

Earlier, too, several large states have shown similar intent.

In Madhya Pradesh, Kamal Nath's government that came to power in December 2018 was considering a law to reserve 70 per cent jobs for locals. But the government fell.

Last year, the Shivraj Singh Chouhan dispensation said it was exploring the possibility of 100 per cent government job quota for locals.

Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani had said in September 2018 that 80 per cent of the workforce in the manufacturing and services should be for locals.

There has been talk in Rajasthan, including the prospect of a 75 per cent quota for locals in private sector jobs. And several political parties in Tamil Nadu have spoken about job quota for local youth.

In Karnataka, the B S Yediyurappa government drafted a legislation to reserve 75 per cent jobs for Kannadigas in industries, MSMEs, JVs and public-private partnerships.

Before him, the Siddaramaiah government had announced a policy to reserve jobs for locals in new public and private enterprises, but it was vetoed by the law department.

The Maharashtra government said last year that it plans to bring a bill to reserve 80 percent jobs in the private sector for locals who have spent 15 years or more in the state.

While the Constitution makes everyone in India eligible to work anywhere in the country, states have used legal loopholes to frame laws.

Over 60 per cent of young workers are inclined to support such rules, a 2017 report by the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies, the New Delhi-based think-tank, said.

Further, youth who are anxious about getting employed are more likely to support the idea of 'son of the soil', a report titled Attitudes, Anxieties and Aspirations of India's Youth: Changing Patterns noted.

Supporters of the quota also argue that undeterred entry of 'outsiders' dilutes regional culture and reduces economic opportunity for locals.

In a precarious situation, they are likely to support any step that raises job opportunities for them, CSDS noted.