Haryana is the most recent state to try and implement job reservations for the private sector — but that’s easier said than done

The promise of mandating jobs for local citizens is only being made by the ‘developed states’. These states have managed to build engineering and arts colleges with companies investing in their infrastructure.

They have some of the highest number of private institutions within the state, yet when it comes to the job market, there’s no one willing to hire these graduates and post graduates.

However, the bill has been challenged in the state high court for being unconstitutional. The reason it has come under fire is because critics claim that it violates Article 16(2) and (3) of the Constitution that prohibit discrimination in employment on the ground of place of residence.

Article 16(1) states that there shall be equal opportunity for the citizens in the matter of employment or appointment to any office under the State. Article 16(2) lays down the grounds on which the citizens should not be discriminated against for the purpose of employment or appointment to any office under the State.

Because it has been challenged in the high court, the law has not yet been implemented.

Andhra Pradesh has the fifth most private colleges, according to the All India Survey on Higher Education (AISHE). In 2019, there were over 11.5 lakh students enrolling in these private institutions.

During the same year, a survey by the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE) said that more than one-fourth of the graduates and post graduates across the state were unemployed — that’s more than twice the national average at the time.

The survey noted that a worker who has only studied till Class 5 is 422 times more likely to be employed than a graduate in the state.

In 2017, the state recorded its highest ever unemployment rate of 6.7%. Come 2019, it was one of the lowest in the country at 0.7%.

The job quota issue made headlines due to the impact of COVID-19. The CMIE recorded unemployment in Karnataka to be as high as 29.8% in April.

Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan’s has promised to bring in a 70% private sector job reservation quota for locals.

According to lawyers, the law in Madhya Pradesh will suffer a fate similar to the job reservation quota in Andhra Pradesh — it will be considered unconstitutional and struck down in court.

During COVID 19, despite the shortage of workers with migrant labour heading home, industries were reluctant to employ Marathi workers.

According to The Print, employers believe the local workers lack work discipline, are unwilling to learn new trades, are inclined towards political and trade unions — seen as pressure tactics by businesses — and are insistent on the implementation of the reservation quota.

It doesn’t help that Maharashtra has one of the highest electricity tariffs for industrial units. The high charges are a consequence of the state subsidising power for farmers.

This has led to reluctance of corporates to set up units in the state and prefer neighbouring Gujarat where the energy tariff for industries is lower. With investors moving out and a bunch of other issues like rising real estate prices, unemployment in the state has also been increasing.

Haryana has not been one to be short of investments. Areas like Gurugram are considered to be software technology hubs and sites of new-age entrepreneurship. Nonetheless, the industry has sought its human resources from outside the state.

Stakeholders have often pointed out that there is a lack of adequately skilled and locally available workforce, especially when it comes to tech-talent, which leaves them no choice but to hire from other parts of the country.

Hence, it’s no surprise that CMIE’s data shows that Haryana’s unemployment rate has been in excess of the national average since the past four years. In April 2020, around 40% of job seekers from the state returned empty-handed.

Instead of investing in skill development, Haryana — like some of the other Indian states when facing rising unemployment — has decided to go the route of job reservations in the private sector.