Meghalaya: All pol parties asked to justify their verbal suggestions on roster system within 15 days

The 12-member committee on the Reservation Roster System and the Job Reservation Policy today directed all political parties to come up with a justification for their verbal suggestions within 15 days and the same will be submitted to the government for review and final decision-making.
This was decided in the all-party meeting held today to discuss the matter relating to the reservation roster.

Briefing the Media, Meghalaya Health Minister and chairperson of the committee, Ampareen Lyngdoh said that there were differing opinions, but only a few suggested creating an expert committee comprising members with backgrounds in law, the constitution, and economics.

Minister Ampareen Lyngdoh said, “We had a very fruitful consultation amongst all the political parties that attended the meeting. A few people pitched for maintaining the status quo but their arguments were made verbally without any supporting documentation, therefore the political parties have been asked to prepare their suggestions, cancellations, and deletions with substantial, legal inputs so that those can pass it on to the State government,”

“We must also ensure that we pass the legal scrutiny that state political parties are required to do, given that there will be no obstruction or scrutiny that will will result negatively for the government,” she added.

The meeting has come after the Conrad Sangma-led Meghalaya government on Tuesday, May 30, accepted the recommendations of the committee reviewing the Roster System to include discussion on the state job reservation policy.

The government re-constituted the 12-member committee headed by state health minister Ampareen Lyngdoh to discuss the implementation of the Reservation Roster System and the Job Reservation Policy.

The committee has been given a month’s time to submit its report.

It may be mentioned here that the implementation of the Roster System in the State Reservation Policy retrospectively has turned into a political hot potato with many groups as well as political parties such as–Voice of the People Party (VVP), KHNAM, Achik Conscious Holistically Integrated Krima (ACHIK), the Khasi Students Union claiming that the roster system is flawed since it is detrimental to job seekers from the Khasi and Jaintia communities.

The roster system determines the reservation of posts for different categories. Since 1972, a total of 40% of state government positions have been set aside for the Garo and Khasi groups, 5% for other in-state tribes, and 15% for the general population.