Won't recruit under new quota till January 23: State

Mumbai: The Maharashtra government on Wednesday told the Bombay high court that it would not make any appointments in any of its departments under the new legislation providing quota to the Maratha community till January 23, when the court will hear petitions against the reservation.

The high court earlier this month was irked aft-er the government issued an advertisement for job recruitment under the quota even though petitions challenging the legislation are pending. Government counsel V.A. Thorat on Wednesday as-sured a division bench that the state will not make any appointments till the next date of hearing.

“The state’s General Administration Depart-ment shall issue necessary directions to all local bodies and institutions under its control asking them not to make any appointments under the new legislation till then,” he said.

A division bench of Justice Naresh Patil and Justice Makarand Karn-ik was hearing a bunch of petitions on the Maratha quota issue. While a few of the petitions challenged the government’s decision to provide 16 per cent reservation in government jobs and educational institutions to the Maratha community, several others were filed in support of it.

Mr Thorat on Wedne-sday told the court that the entire process of recruitment will take over a year to complete. “The selection of applications for the jobs is common. The reservation iss-ue comes only at the fag end of the process when appointments are made. Even if the government fast tracks the process, it would still take a couple of months,” he said.

The government in an affidavit submitted on Wednesday said it would not be proper for the court to stay the entire recruitment process, considering large number of vacancies in state departments and the issue of unemployment in society. The bench on Wednesday accepted the contentions of the government and its assurance that no appointments would be made till the next date of hearing.

Opp. reaction

Mumbai: The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader, Dhananjay Munde, on Wednesday said that the state government has made many false announcements in last four years and one of them was opened before the court today. The state government told the high court that it will not fill up posts under mega recruitment programme till January 23. According to Mr Munde, on one side state is giving reservation to Maratha community and on the other hand it is staying recruitment till January 23.