Das govt’s domicile policy still in force: Min

Ranchi: State parliamentary affairs minister Alam Gir Alam on Monday admitted on the floor of the assembly that the local residents’ policy introduced by the then Raghubar Das government in 2016 is still in force.
Alam’s statement came in response to a question raised by independent MLA Saryu Rai who has recently formed a third front. His questions were backed by other third front members causing embarrassment to the government.On Monday last week, chief minister Hemant Soren had categorically said his government had rejected the “faulty” policy of the erstwhile BJP government.
“The entire state is agitating over the issue (of locals). BJP brought a domicile policy with a cut-off date of 1985. But our government has declined it,” Soren had said in his reply to a query by BJP’s chief whip Biranchi Narayan.
Notably, the BJP’s locals policy was struck down by the Jharkhand high court in September 2020 when it cancelled the recruitment of thousands of teachers and officials who were appointed on 100% reservation for local candidates living in 13 Scheduled districts of the state, describing it as a violation of the fundamental rights. The court had declared the policy null and void and scrapped the advertisement that was issued in 2016.
Though the court order came in 2020, the current dispensation has failed to bring a new policy, which is pending with the governor and has not been able to make appointments against vacant government posts. During the question hour on Monday, Rai asked the government if it was prepared to consider the cut-off date of 1932 — the last land survey records in the state — as the baseline for defining the Jharkhand locals. The question put the government in a tight spot and the minister could not answer either in the affirmative or negate it. Alam responded, “Our government is exploring all aspects, going through the court order and is ready to consider public sentiment before coming out with a policy.”
Two other members of the third front, Ajsu-P chief Sudesh Mahto and NCP MLA Kamlesh Kumar Singh supported Rai and pressed the government to give a time frame to announce the policy. “The government should clarify as to when the three-member committee will be formed to look into the details,” Mahto said.
In his supplementary question, Rai further asked if the government was willing to introduce amendments to the policy introduced by the Das government. Alam responded saying, “It is already there in our recruitment policy but we need some time to take a final decision.”