Andhra Pradesh mulls restoring 100 pc reservation to tribals in agency areas

Amaravati, May 12 (IANS) Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu said on Monday that the state government is committed to providing 100 per cent reservation for local tribals in government jobs in agency areas.

Naidu discussed with officials the steps to be taken to restore the GO No. 3, which was quashed by the Supreme Court in 2020.

The Chief Minister recalled that the GO (Government Order) was issued in the combined Andhra Pradesh in 2000 to provide 100 per cent reservation for the local tribals in government jobs.

The Chief Minister directed the officials to study the possibilities to restore the GO by following the guidelines and norms set by the Supreme Court.

A five-judge Constitution Bench headed by Justice Arun Mishra and comprising Justices Indira Banerjee, Vineet Saran, MR Shah and Aniruddha Bose quashed a January 2000 order passed by the then Governor of erstwhile Andhra Pradesh providing 100 per cent reservation to tribal candidates in teacher posts in scheduled areas. The court said the order was “arbitrary” and not permissible under the Constitution.

Pointing out that through a GO issued in 1986, the Girijans were provided 100 per cent quota in Agency areas in teacher posts, Chandrababu Naidu said that following some legal tangles, GO No 3 was issued in 2000, taking women's reservation too into consideration. After its implementation, Girijans got 4,626 teacher posts in agency areas, he added.

As some people challenged the GO No. 3, the Supreme Court revoked the order in 2020 after hearing at various stages, the Chief Minister said. However, as the previous government delayed abnormally in filing a review petition on this, the apex court dismissed the appeal too, following which the Girijans lost the benefits that were available through the GO No. 3, the Chief Minister added.

During the election campaign last year, Chandrababu Naidu had promised the tribals that if voted to power, he would either restore the GO No. 3 or do justice to them on similar lines. Following this, the Chief Minister discussed with the officials the developments post-revocation of the GO and also the steps to be adopted to restore the benefits that the Girijans received after the GO was issued.

The meeting focused on the opportunities available in agency areas to provide 100 per cent quota in government jobs for tribals, the available possibilities and legal hurdles. The Chief Minister directed the officials to gather the opinion of the tribals and Girijan unions on the restoration of GO No. 3.

The officials explained three options available for the restoration of the GO. The first option, they said is providing 100 per cent reservation to local Girijans, the second option is providing quota to the tribals as per their population ratio, and the third is to protect the rights of the tribals by providing reservation not beyond 50 per cent to local tribals as advised by the Supreme Court.

The Chief Minister suggested that discussions should be held with legal and Constitutional experts at the national level.

--IANS

ms/uk