Set Back For Haryana Govt As HC Quashes Law Providing 75% Quota For Locals In Private Sector Jobs

The Punjab and Haryana High Court on Friday held the 75 per cent quota for Haryana locals in the private sector unconstitutional.

The bench of Justice Gs Sandhawalia and Justice Harpreet Kaur Jeewan said the "law (the Haryana State Employment of Local Candidates Act, 2020) is unconstitutional and violative of the part-III of the Constitution."

In January 2022, the state government enacted a law reserving 75 per cent of private sector jobs for Haryana residents, with a salary cap of Rs 30,000. However, the legislation faced immediate challenges, with critics arguing that it would burden industries with compliance issues, grant excessive powers to the government, and impede Haryana's economic growth.

Concerns were also raised about the shortage of skilled industrial labour in the predominantly agrarian state, where approximately 70 per cent of the population is engaged in agriculture, as per the state Agriculture Department's website.

In response to petitions from industry bodies, the Punjab and Haryana High Court temporarily halted the law's implementation in February 2022. However, in the same month, the Supreme Court lifted the stay, with the condition that the state government refrain from coercive measures against private employers until the high court reached a final decision.

Meanwhile, the High Court order is seen as a setback to the Manohar Lal Khattar-led government with the state going for polls in less than a year. The BJP government had aimed to woo the local communities with this law as the state is battling a high unemployment rate.

According to a December 2022 report by the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE), released in January this year, Haryana exhibited the highest unemployment rate in India at 37.4 per cent, contrasting with the national rate of 8.3 per cent.