TV
The Odisha government clarified its stance on implementing reservation in promotions for Scheduled Tribes (STs) and Scheduled Castes (SCs), directing all departments to follow updated guidelines aligned with a Supreme Court mandate, resolving confusion over eligibility criteria while ensuring legal compliance.
Official Notification:
In an official notice issued on February 27, the state’s ST & SC Development, Minorities, and Backward Classes Welfare Department emphasized the need for cadre-specific surveys to assess inadequate representation of ST/SC employees before applying reservation rules during promotions.
The process, mandated by the Supreme Court, requires collecting quantifiable data to determine if a particular cadre’s ST/SC representation falls below their proportionate population share.
The guidelines, initially notified on May 6, 2024, will remain effective until further orders. They apply to all administrative departments, district collectors, and recruitment panels.
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Government’s Directive:
In the notice, Principal Secretary Sanjeeb Kumar Mishra confirmed that the May 6 guidelines are binding amid ongoing deliberations over “complex legal issues.”
“I am directed to say that, the issues concerning reservation in promotion is currently under examination. There are certain complex legal issues which are under deliberation and pending finalization, the current guideline issued by ST & SC Development, M & BCW Department vide Letter No 9838/SSD dated 06.05.2024 which is already in force, shall be followed till further orders,” the notification read.
The notice also instructed the Departments and Departmental Promotion Committees (DPCs) to adhere strictly to the existing framework to ensure uniformity.
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Implementation Guidelines
Departments must conduct separate surveys for each service category to evaluate representation gaps. If a cadre shows underrepresentation, reservation in promotions will apply. The state stressed that these measures align with a 2006 Supreme Court order, which earlier governments had ignored by implementing blanket reservation policies without data-backed assessments, it further read.
