BENGALURU: Where will the money come from? The state government is all set to initiate the recruitment process to fill about 2.76 lakh vacancies in 40 departments as part of implementing internal quota for Scheduled Castes.
The government is likely to turn its eye on the Scheduled Caste Sub-Plan (SCSP) and Tribal Sub-Plan (TSP) grants to meet the additional expenditure of over Rs 8,000 to Rs 10,000 crore against the salaries, according to sources.
The state’s committed expenditure is also likely to spike. This will leave the government with no option other than cutting down on subsidies to the SC/STs under various departments or delaying the disbursal.
“For instance, the industries department alone has to disburse about Rs 800 crore subsidies under SCSP/TSP,” according to a source from the social welfare department. The same would be diverted and used for employees’ salaries, alleged a Congress leader hailing from a Dalit community.
The government has earmarked Rs 51,034 crore annually for the Five Guarantees and Rs 42,018 crore is allocated for SCSP/TSP grants in the 2025-26 Budget.
The government is likely to fill the vacancies in a phased manner by recruiting about 25,000 vacancies, to start with, on a priority basis in revenue, health and education sectors, according to sources.
State Government Employees’ Association president Shadakshari hoped that the government may take steps to fill about 40,000 vacancies, including in the home department. “The Department of Personnel and Administrative Reforms (DAPR) has yet to lift the ban on recruitment even as the order for the implementation of the internal quota was issued”, he said.