The onus is with the State Government to ensure judicious distribution of available community resources for livelihood and allocation of public opportunities, including employment to all its citizens.
The Government has to not only make policies and laws in this regard, but also to see its enforcement while ensuring protection of the excluded. In recent times, with enforcement of the policy of privatization and public- private partnership, the nature of public employment has changed through introduction of contractual appointment, employment of short term nature, project based jobs and outsourcing of recruitment from private sources hired by the Government and the semi-Government bodies.
As principle, the Government jobs, contracts, projects and all kinds of employment opportunities being created out of public funds must follow an inclusive employment policy which will not only reduce our persistent caste and gender based inequality but also contribute to strengthen an all-encompassing public participation in nation building. But lack of clear cut rules about inclusion of SCs and STs in public employment and absence of institutional monitoring to ensure their participation have deprived them of their constitutional rights to employment. The modern democratic State came to existence with aspiration of equality and rule of law to end all forms of discrimination and exploitation in society through principles of equity and democracy. Employment is one of the major areas where the focus of the Government should be on building inclusion in employment opportunities.
But unfortunately, the contractual appointments and recruitment through outsourcing, project based appointments and many of the Government schemes and programmes run by the Government and private bodies, NGOs and public and private partnership do not follow the policy of reservation in ensuring employment of SCs and STs of the State.
There are lakhs of jobs under category of service providers created under different Government schemes of nutrition, health, education, employment, public distribution system and sanitation to serve the poor and marginalized, women and children in rural areas, such as cook and helper of mid-day meal in all Government run private schools, ASHAs, Anganwadi workers and helpers, Gaon Sathi, information and communication technology personnel in panchayat, block, tehsil and district offices and many more whose recruitments are done locally but no policy of reservation is being followed to ensure the employment of SCs and STs in rural areas in these posts and services. On the other hand, these schemes are primarily targeted to serve the rural poor SCs and STs. The schemes, guidelines and a number of court interpretations have conformed building an affirmative employment policy favouring SCs, STs and women in rural areas but it is not being enforced.
The international agencies, corporate foundations, private trusts, private universities and NGOs operating with direct support from Government and in partnership with Government in the State have not been following any inclusive employment policy while enjoying all kinds of benefits and State patronage on the pretext of serving the rural poor, SCs and STs. It is fact that providing service to SCs and STs has become a vital source of employment for employees belonging to non SCs and STs in rural and tribal areas of the State where as potential SCs and STs educated youths and women are not being given scope to serve their own community under Government projects.
The leaders of these implementing organizations, mostly drawn from upper caste, are avoiding field level social realities to cope with continued caste-based discriminatory social dimension of rural areas.
The appointment of SCs and STs in field level as workers has been seen as a social challenge and risk factor with the organization. It has been told that the development work in the State such as Odisha having sizable SC and ST population must have social dimension in its approach to development, especially in the context of employment but, however, when it comes to implementation, the purpose is missing.
Therefore, it is suggested that the charity work out of State fund must be converted to social investment over building social capital among the poor and marginalized sections which will contribute to social transformation.
There are regular complains from different parts of the State that most eligible youths of SCs and STs are not being preferred as service provider under different Government schemes implemented in rural areas. The selection process is largely under the influence of local dominant groups, land owning upper castes, corrupt bureaucrats, ruling party leaders, having caste and gender bias and corruption in recruitment procedure. The decision of the dominant people is binding on the poor and marginalized in the village by use of physical violence, false court cases and social harassment and atrocities by using the local policy and goons.
The social activist challenging corruption and procedural violation are also facing harassment in many ways in the absence of protection mechanism. In a recent move, the of Bihar has introduced reservation in outsource services for SCs, STs, OBCs, MBCs and women of the State because it is found that the outsourcing agencies are not following social inclusiveness in their recruitment.
It was reported that mostly in IT based operation, there is nominal participation of marginalized groups and it is monopolized by people belonging to a few dominant caste groups. It is demanded by a number of political parties to extend the ambit of reservation to private sector also to bring inclusion in private work places and democratize large employment market.
The Government of Odisha must adopt reservation policy for its majority of the population like the SCs, STs, OBCs, SEBCs and women in rural and tribal areas in recruitment for implementation of all types of Government schemes and programmes.
The private agencies, international organizations, UNO bodies operating in Odisha, donor agencies, NGOs and corporate foundation operating in rural and tribal areas and directly involved in development of the poor and marginalized must be instructed to adopt socially inclusive recruitment policy in their agencies.
The State SCs and STs, OBCs and minority development department should monitor this to ensure the implementation of provision of reservation and the all private agencies must comply with such norms under the provision of law.
(manasbbsr15@gmail.com)