Jamshedpur, April 8: The trade organizations in the Steel City have welcomed the long-awaited policy for defining local residents of Jharkhand, about 16 years after Jharkhand was carved of Bihar.
The State Government on Thursday had announced the policy.
Singhbhum Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the apex trade body of Kolhan has welcomed the policy. President Suresh Sonthalia said that it is a good definition of a local resident of the State.
He said that Jharkhand took the historic decision of defining local policy which may be the delayed one but is sound.
“What I like was that the Cabinet took another important decision defining posts as district cadre on which only local residents of that particular district can be appointed.
Vacancies of teacher, Jan Sevak, Panchayat secretary, constable, chaukidar, forest guards, ANMs etc are some
of such positions,” said another functionary.
Bharat Vasani, a senior functionary of Singhbhum Chamber of Commerce, said that the policy was much awaited.
The policy will help to define the local resident and pave way for appointments. The best part is that the ones who were born in Jharkhand and have had their education up to class 10 from the State Board or equivalent within Jharkhand too would be considered within the ambit of the domicile policy.
“Employees of the central Government posted in the State, along with their wives and children, would be treated as locals.
Also, the persons appointed on Constitutional or legal positions have been defined as locals.
And lastly, all such persons who are born in the State and have completed their matriculation or equivalent examination from recognized institutes situated in Jharkhand would be locals,” said another official.
Meanwhile some of the opposition parties in the city expressed strong protest against the Cabinet decision of defining domicile policy in Jharkhand.
A JMM leader called it a fraud against the original inhabitants and tribal population of the State.
The Jharkhand Mukti Morcha in its official statement said that the Cabinet decision was confusing and was
against the basic tenet of the formation of Jharkhand.
Meanwhile, SRA Rizwi Chabban, state Congress secretary said that the way the policy has been presented is not clear.
“The policy is mere eye wash and nothing else. The purposes, for which the state of Jharkhand was created, are
Totally missing in the policy. The languages and cul- ture of the state need to preserved, how will locals participate in the development of State and how will locals get partnership in industries and tenders is not clear.
As far as jobs are concerned, people will get them under limited percentage. The government has announced the policy but the element of domicile is absent from it,” noted Chabban.
It may be recalled that the term ‘domicile’ could not be decided ever since the state came into existence.
In 2002, the Jharkhand High Court had given a detailed order directing the state government to fix the definition of domicile.