The Andhra Pradesh government on Wednesday passed a Bill in the Legislative Assembly, aimed at providing 75 percent reservation for locals in industries and factories in the state.
Once passed in the Legislative Council on Thursday, the Andhra Pradesh Employment of Local Candidates in the Industries/Factories Act, 2019, seeks to reserve 75 percent of jobs for locals in all industries, including units, factories, joint ventures and projects set up under the public-private partnership model in Andhra Pradesh.
While the draft Bill defines 'Locals' as candidates who are domiciled in the state of Andhra Pradesh, it does not elaborate on the requirements for 'domicile' status.
The Bill will reportedly apply to all existing industries and factories, as well as those that are established after the Bill is approved. According to media reports, the Bill, if passed, will make Andhra Pradesh the first state in the country to have reservations for locals in private industries. In a press note, Chief Minister Jagan Mohan Reddy said that this would be a 'boon to unemployed youth in the state'.
Five more Bills with various provisions for the welfare of SC, ST, BC and minority communities as well as women were also introduced on Monday and passed in the Assembly on Wednesday.
These include Bills for providing 50 percent reservations to BC, SC, ST and minorities in nominated posts and government nominated contracts and service contracts, and 50 percent reservations to women in government nominated posts. Another Bill to set up a permanent BC (Backward Classes) Commission in the state was also introduced.
The Bills were introduced amidst chaos in the Assembly, with the Opposition wanting to discuss the World Bank’s withdrawal of funding for the Amaravati project. With TDP leaders sloganeering and demanding to discuss Amaravati as the Bills were being introduced, Chief Minister Jagan lashed out at the Opposition, saying that they were behaving irresponsibly when such historic Bills were being introduced.
“For the first time in the history of the state and the country, when such important Bills were being introduced, this must be the only irresponsible Opposition, which is trying to create obstructions,” said Jagan.
Former CM Chandrababu Naidu spoke to the media on Tuesday, claiming that the YSRCP had deliberately tabled the Bills at that time to avoid discussing Amaravati and were now blaming the TDP for obstructing them.