Quota for teachers: Tribals living in Telangana face uncertainty
HYDERABAD: Job notifications are going to be issued by the State government soon, but the indigenous people living in Telangana are caught in a quagmire after the Supreme Court quashed GO MS No 3 in April 2020.
This was issued by the erstwhile Andhra Pradesh in 2000, providing 100 per cent reservation to local area tribes for the post of teachers in schools located in scheduled areas.
The governments of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana have filed a revision petition in the Supreme Court and a writ petition was also filed by tribals challenging the order. However, the conundrum has been affecting the prospects and future of tribal empowerment.
According to G Venkata Ramana, Telangana State President, AEWCA, the case which went on for two decades was not properly contested by the States and the issue of 'autonomy for agency areas' as enshrined in the Fifth Schedule of the Constitution was overshadowed by the issue of ‘reservations’.
"Already non-tribals have occupied all lands in mandal headquarters of agency areas and tribals are not in a position to either get jobs or start their own businesses. By keeping tribals away from even these class IV jobs, how can we hope for the development of indigenous people," asks Prof Chidem Kishore Kumar from Osmania University in Hyderabad.