Punjab cabinet approves restoration of reservation for Scheduled Caste (SC) state government employees

Chandigarh: In a reprieve to the state government employees belonging to Scheduled Castes, the Punjab Cabinet on Monday approved the proposal for restoration of the reservation of 14 percent to Scheduled Caste (SC) employees in Group-A and Group-B and 20 percent in Group-C and Group-D services for filling up the vacancies by promotion. [caption id=“attachment_4375177” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File image of Punjab chief minister Amarinder Singh. AFP[/caption] A spokesperson of the Chief Minister’s Office said the Cabinet gave its nod to the proposal mooted by the Social Justice, Empowerment and Minorities Department and authorised the chief minister to approve the final draft of the ordinance. The reservation would also be applicable to proforma promotion and appointment by transfer to the SC employees, he said. The Punjab and Haryana High Court in its judgment on 20 February  2018 has struck down the Section 4(3), 4(4) and 4(8) of “The Scheduled Castes and Backward Classes (Reservation in Services) Act, 2006”. In another decision, the Cabinet also accorded approval for revival of eight posts of different cadres in the Punjab Public Service Commission to ensure its effective functioning besides smooth conduct of future examinations within the stipulated time frame. The revived posts included six clerks, one network engineer and one legal assistant.