Haryana Cabinet decides to implement apex court decision on SC/ST sub-categorisation immediately

The Haryana Cabinet, chaired by Chief Minister Nayab Saini, in its first meeting on Friday, decided to formally accept the Supreme Court's decision regarding the sub-categorisation of Scheduled Caste (SC) and Scheduled Tribe reservations and implement it immediately.

The decision will ensure a fair distribution of benefits within the existing reservation system, it said. Currently, there is a 15 per cent reservation for SC and a 7.5 per cent reservation for Scheduled Tribe communities. With this decision, Haryana will be able to allocate specific quotas within this 22.5 per cent reservation to those sub-groups within SCs and STs that have lesser representation in employment and education.

The Supreme Court on August 1 ruled that a sub-classification would be permissible within reserved category groups for providing benefits of affirmative action. A 7-judge Constitution Bench headed by CJI D.Y. Chandrachud overturned the 2004 judgement of a five-judge Constitution Bench, which barred preferential treatment to certain sub-castes, holding that the members of the SCs and STs form homogeneous groups incapable of further regrouping or classification. However, in 2020, a 5-judge bench headed by Justice Arun Mishra (now retired) opined that the ruling is required to be revisited by a larger Bench, as the benefit of reservation is not percolating down to the neediest and poorest of the poor.

In its first meeting, held a day after taking the oath of office, the Cabinet announced free dialysis for patients suffering from severe kidney diseases in all government hospitals in the state.

"The first file that I signed after assuming charge was regarding the decision pertaining to kidney patients. We had also made this promise in the elections. The cost of dialysis is nearly Rs 20,000 to Rs 25,000 per month. Now, the Haryana government will bear the expenses," Chief Minister Saini said.

On government job recruitments, Saini slammed the previous Congress government, accusing it of treating job distribution as a business.

Regarding the Assembly session, he said the Cabinet discussed the matter, and a date would be finalised, post-festive season, within one to two days.

Saini, who warned criminals to either leave the state or face strict action, reassured the farmers that every grain of their crop would be purchased at the minimum support price (MSP).

Emphasising transparency, he recalled his promise of creating 50,000 jobs, with 15,000 already provided and 25,000 more planned. He assured that job recruitment would be conducted without any monetary transactions. He assured that all existing welfare schemes would continue without interruption.