Orissa sticks to 50 per cent reservation limit in job

Bhubaneswar,Nov 15 (UNI) The Orissa government today asked all the agencies in the state to stick to the 50 per cent reservation limit in the recruitment in view of the Apex Court upholding the order of the High Court not to exceed the reservation beyond 50 per cent.

The cabinet chaired by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik decided to stick to the 50 per cent limit in the job reservation and keep in abeyance the 27 per cent reservation for the socially and economically backward class(SEBC).

Briefing the newsmen after the cabinet meeting State Chief Secretary Ajit Kumar Tripathy said as an interim measures the reservation in the recruitment in all organisations in the state would be 22.5 per cent for the ST,16.25 per cent for the SC category and 11.25 per cent for the SEBC.

Mr.Tripathy said this has been done after the Apex court recently rejected the Special Leave Petition filed by the government challenging the High Court judgment to confine the reservation to 50 per cent.

The Chief Secretary said the state government through a resolution on December 8,1994 had fixed 27 per cent reservation for the SEBC in the government job thereby enhancing the reservation to 65.75 per cent.

The government resolution,he said was challenged in the State Administrative Tribunal(SAT) which quashed the resolution stating that under no circumstances,the reservation would exceed 50 per cent.

Mr.Tripathy said the state government then moved the High court against the SAT judgment which upheld the judgment.The government,he said moved the Apex court through SLP against the High Court judgment which also upheld the High court judgment.

He said in view of the Apex Court judgment,the December 8,1994 resolution granting 65.75 per cent reservation including 27 per cent for the SEBC would be now modified and the government would provide 11.25 per cent reservation to the SEBC so that the total reservation would remain within 50 per cent as directed by the Apex Court.

UNI