New Delhi: A fresh bill is to be tabled in parliament to provide adequate representation to the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in the civil services and in government jobs and to ensure that posts reserved for them are not de-reserved due to lack of suitable candidates.

The cabinet, at a meeting here Wednesday presided over by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, approved a proposal to withdraw the existing bill and replace it with a fresh one "containing provisions on penalty on offices who do not implement reservation provisions and in imparting of training to SCs and STs to enable them to compete for government jobs", Finance Minister P. Chidambaram said.

He was briefing reporters after the cabinet meeting.

"Posts reserved for SCs and STs will not be de-reserved but will be carried forward till suitable candidates are found," the finance minister said.

This apart, if an SC/ST candidate comes through on merit, this post will not be considered to be a part of the reserved quota, he added.

The original bill was introduced in the Rajya Sabha in 2004.

"The provisions of the bill were examined by the department related parliamentary standing committee and later on by a Group of Ministers," Chidambaram said.

After considering the recommendations of the standing committee and the Group of Ministers, the cabinet decided to withdraw the bill and table fresh legislation in parliament, he added.

"The proposed law will create an unambiguous, coherent and authentic framework for implementing reservation for the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in the central government services," the finance minister said.

"It will bring in interpretative clarity about various facets of the policy on reservation in central government jobs and infuse greater confidence in the minds of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes," he added.

 

Source : IANS