SC representation in state government services inadequate: report

NEW DELHI: Chhattisgarh is the only state which is providing adequate reservation to Scheduled Castes in government jobs, statistics compiled by National Commission for Scheduled Castes (NCSC) have revealed. The report shows the Scheduled Castes representation in state government services is inadequate and is showing a decreasing trend over the years in almost all other states. Chhattisgarh, which provides 12.82 per

cent reservation for Scheduled Castes, finishes on top of the chart giving representation to Dalits in all cadres posts. The NCSC report reveals that the state is showing an increasing trend with more number of Dalits occupying government posts compared to last year. Bihar and West Bengal, according to the report, finish at the other end of the spectrum with representation of SCs much below the expected percentage of reservation. Though data provided by Bihar is incomplete, the report observes that there is a shortfall of SC representation across cadres in the range of 2 to 8 per cent.

West Bengal, which provides 23 per cent reservation for SCs, shows a shortfall of 1 to 10 per cent across different groups. The report observes there is no improvement of shortfall over the last one year in the state. "There is a shortfall of SC representation in the cadre of Group A, B, C and D, approximately 10 per cent, 8 per cent, 2 per cent and 1 per cent respectively as per prescribed percentage of reservation for SCs in the state," report says.

Other states that have inadequate representation of SCs in government services include Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, Odisha, Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, Telangana, Punjab, Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh.