Why Himanta Biswa government has put on hold Modi-backed EWS quota in jobs

The Assam government has decided to do away with the Economically Weaker Section (EWS) quota on jobs in order to find a relevant way on how the quota could be used in the recruitment process of state government jobs going forward.

"The Assam government has decided to temporarily stay the EWS quota on jobs to study how this quota can be implemented in recruitment. We are also examining how other states have implemented or are planning to implement the same," said a senior Assam government official.

Following this, the Assam state government on December 21 in its 'Office Memorandum' noted that- The matter of reservation for Economically Weaker Sections (EWSs) in direct recruitment in posts and services under Government of Assam in abeyance until further notice."

However, the same would not be applied in those cases in which the vacancies have already been assessed and have already been advertised and the EWSs category shall continue for admissions in Educational Institutions.

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As per the Constitution (103rd Amendment) Act 2019 passed by Parliament, enables both the Central and state governments to provide reservations to the EWS in government jobs and higher education. 

The Act was enacted to promote the welfare of the poor not covered by the reservation policy for Scheduled Castes (SCs), Scheduled Tribes (STs) and Socially and Educationally Backward Classes (SEBC). 

Although it was never mandatory in the states as it allowed the state government to decide whether or not to provide reservations to the EWS for appointment in state government jobs and admission to state government higher educational institutions.

Currently, the Central government has initiated implementation of the 10 per cent reservation to EWS candidates in Central Govt services and admission to Central Government Higher Educational institutions. 

Till now 12 states— Uttarakhand, Gujarat, Karnataka, Jharkhand, Maharashtra, Mizoram, Delhi, Jammu and Kashmir, Goa, Assam, Andhra Pradesh and Telengana— have implemented 10 per cent reservation to EWSs.

On the other hand, the Centre has informed the Supreme Court that a total of 2,14,766 additional seats have been created in the Central educational institutions and Rs 4,315.15 crore for the same has been approved. 

Earlier on November 2022, the Supreme Court upheld the validity of the 103rd Constitutional Amendment which provides a 10 per cent reservation for the Economically Weaker Sections (EWS) among forward castes in government jobs and educational institutions across India.

Who belongs to the EWS quota and who can avail of this?

For a person to come under the EWS quota, his or his family’s income should be less than Rs 8 lakh a year. The source of income can include agriculture, business, and other professions.

There are certain mandatory conditions for people coming to EWS. A person under this category must have less than five acres of agricultural land. 

Along with this, his residential accommodation should not be 200 square metres or more. If a residential accommodation is more than 200 square metres, it should not come under the municipality. In other words, it should in rural areas.

For a person to prove that he belongs to EWS of the society, he needs to have an “Income and Asset Certificate” to claim reservation. The certificate needs to be issued only by gazetted officers of the rank of Tehsildar or above. This income certificate is valid for a year—EWS beneficiaries have to renew their certificates every year.

Earlier in the month of July 2022, the Assam state cabinet decided to extend the scope of the Economically weaker section (EWS) quota in which the eligibility criteria such as rural (15 bigha land) to urban (1 bigha land) has been extended to 30 and 2 bighas. 

Further, this allowed more people to be eligible for the EWS as per the state government.