Srikrishna Committee Report : Employment Not a live issue any more

Justice Srikrishna Committee that examined the job-related grievances of Telangana people tracked the history of the issue from 1919 to the present and concluded that it no more remained a major one or a live one. If there were some injustices done they were largely addressed basing on the recommendation of Girglani Commission. It would suffice if the existing safeguards are implemented “with renewed vigour”.

More importantly, with globalization spreading and its impact on developing societies, the committee has pointed out that public employment constituted a very small percentage of the population. Since the issue involved many legal and technical aspects, the committee took the assistance of Mukesh Kacker, a senior IAS official who was Director General, Institution on Regulation and Competition, New Delhi, at the time of working out the report.

It said that the employment-related issues of Telangana people had been there during the Nizam rule also. Thus a Firman was issued in 1919 which introduced Mulki Rules, reserving certain categories of jobs to the locals. When Telangana was merged with Andhra State in 1956 and Andhra Pradesh was formed, those reservations were made a part of the Gentlemen’s Agreement concluded between the leaders of two regions. It pertained to education and employment, apart from other subjects.

But as people of Telangana complained that the protections were being violated and started agitating for their implementation, a series of programmes and formulae were announced by the State and Central governments assuring that they would be followed thereafter. In between, courts intervened basing on petitions while striking down those protections one time and upholding some other time. When the TDP led by NT Rama Rao came to power, it issued GO 610 in 1985 for the same purpose. Yet the problem persisted till 2001 whereupon a fresh commission headed by a retired IAS official Girglani was appointed to find out the actual status and formulate its recommendations.

When the commission found enough substance in the grievances, about 14,856 of the 18,856 ‘outsiders’ were repatriated by around the year 2010. During the 56 years -- from 1956 to 2010 -- this was the position found by the Srikrishna Committee. It “appreciated” the steps taken by the Government to repatriate those appointed against the rules while noting that Telangana employees continued to agitate alleging that more violations were taking place.

There are some biases in recent recruitments. Though they are small they have “huge symbolic and emotional aspect”, the report commented. It goes on to say that the steps taken by the Government to satisfy the demand of Telangana people “may have only been partly successful”, while a few other questions related to this issue arise. Public employment is not a big issue statistically. But the issue is important in Telangana context. The recent dispute about non- appointment of judicial officers in the High Court from Telangana was one such case.

However, even while noting such discrepancies, it has been suggested maintenance of balance in appointment of key officials in Secretariat and elsewhere. Above this there is no need for any “additional administrative instrumentalities for protection of persons belonging to Telangana region in public employment”, except asking for implementation of the existing ones with “renewed vigour”, the committee said.

On the other hand, the committee discussed the issue of globalization wherein the number of public jobs went down steadily while opportunities in the private sector kept expanding. Thus it gave the impression of advising the Telangana people that instead of concentrating on dwindling public sector for employment they should focus on grabbing maximum opportunities in an expanding private sector.
Next: Hyderabad City

DEBATE

Bifurcation: The wider issues
Carving of Telangana out of Andhra Pradesh State continues to hang fire when almost everyone thought that the UPA Coordination Committee and the Congress Working Committee had taken a final position. However, the decision has thrown up several questions, with Seemandhra parties up in arms. The issues of Hyderabad city, water resources, power, educational and employment opportunities have become bones of contention between the two regions.

In view of the current developments, let’s take a look once again at the report of Justice Srikrishna Committee that was set up in 2010 to study the Telangana issue. Without going into the recommendations made by it, as there was no definitiveness about them except offering various options, The Hans India will be running relevant excerpts from the report, topic wise.

The idea in publishing them is to initiate a debate in these columns from various sections of people from all the three regions of the State. Readers are welcome to send in their views which will be published in due course. They should be written in English and to the point. Please mention the complete address and phone number. Also attach a passport size photograph and mail to letters@thehansindia.in