BENGALURU: A fresh controversy has erupted over reservation in government employment, with critics alleging that the representation of certain categories in many Karnataka departments, especially in Group A and B posts, has surged well beyond the prescribed limits.
This has triggered anger among some groups. According to figures cited by some employees, who have petitioned the government, Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe representation in certain cadres now ranges between 30% and 50%, sharply higher than their estimated population share of about 24% combined -- SC --17%, ST -7%. Despite repeated petitions flagging the imbalance, the state government is accused of maintaining the status quo, allegedly ignoring court directions and constitutional mandates on proportionality.
The issue has sparked protests and mounting resentment, with general category groups claiming there is no institutional mechanism to even hear their grievances. With SC/ST employees together reportedly accounting for around 26% of the total workforce, critics argue that filling backlog vacancies without a thorough audit would further skew representation.
The petitioners demand a comprehensive, recruitment-wise audit, including data on sanctioned posts, filled positions, backlog vacancies and current openings, to restore transparency and fairness in public appointments.
They insisted that such an exercise is essential, particularly after recent judicial scrutiny under the Pavitra framework. The Karnataka government is yet to respond to the allegations. As the state moves ahead with sub-classification within SC quotas, the growing row highlights deepening tensions over affirmative action policy, equity and constitutional compliance in public employment — an issue now poised to spill into courts.
Experts said this serious anomaly has occurred because when two or three positions are advertised, as is normally done in government jobs, they give reservation proportionally. When taken cumulatively over a 10 or 20-year period, when over 100 job positions have been filled up, reserved categories have received far greater number of jobs and this has not been addressed so far, they said.