The Maharashtra Cabinet on Wednesday decided to support reservation in promotions in government jobs after taking into account a report that has established under representation of SCs, STs and other reserved categories in higher posts. An official statement said the cabinet, at its meeting here, decided to support the policy of reservation in promotions for state employees from reserved categories and will put forth the government’s stand accordingly before the Supreme Court, where the matter is pending.
An additional affidavit will be submitted by the state government in the Supreme Court which will underscore the state’s stand on the reservation in promotions issue, said an official.The cabinet discussed a report prepared by chief secretary Sitaram Kunte on the current representation of SCs, STs and backward communities in higher posts in public jobs.
The report has stated that there is not enough representation of these communities in senior positions in the state cadre and thus the Maharashtra government has decided to support the demand of reservation in promotions, the official said.The report and its findings will be mentioned in the affidavit that is proposed to be submitted in the apex court, he said.
In early May, the General Administration Department issued an interim order removing reservation in promotions for public servants belonging to the Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, Vimukta Jati and Nomadic Tribes and Special Backward Classes categories.However, following strong protests, the state government later issued a circular staying the interim order. The matter is now pending in the Supreme Court.
Meanwhile, the cabinet cleared a proposal to implement the Union government-funded national action plan for drug demand reduction (NAPDDR).The Centre will provide Rs 13.70 crore for the scheme which has to be implemented till 2023.
The action plan aims at reduction of adverse consequences of drug abuse through a multi-pronged strategy. The activities under the plan include awareness generation in schools/colleges/universities, workshops with parents, community-based peer-led interactions intervention programmes for vulnerable adolescent and youth, provisioning of treatment facilities and capacity building of service providers.The state social justice department will implement the action plan with focus on bringing down stress, addiction and maintaining balanced diet people among others.
In another decision, the cabinet decided to disburse Rs 5,000 to every eligible folk artist in the state under a welfare scheme aimed at reducing the impact of the coronavirus pandemic and resultant lockdowns. As many as 56,000 artists will be covered under the scheme, for which the state government has already sanctioned Rs 28 crore, another official said.
In August, the government had announced a relief package for folk music artists, producers of folk art, touring talkies and organisations associated with them to help them overcome the impact of the pandemic and lockdowns.Organisations active in the area of art and culture will get an assistance of Rs 6 crore from the state government. As many as 847 organisations will benefit from it, he said.
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