Regional

High Court stays Haryana government’s 75% reservation for locals in private jobs

The Punjab and Haryana High Court on Thursday put a hold on the Haryana government’s decision to grant 75 per cent reservation for locals in private jobs. The High Court has also sought a reply from the state government.

The counsel for one of the petitioner’s, which had challenged the Act, said the court has granted the interim stay.

The order has come as a relief for companies in the state which feel that the law would have a bearing on their future business operations and investments. The government had last year enacted the Haryana State Employment of Local Candidates Act, 2020, to grant 75 per cent reservation for locals in private jobs. It came into effect in January this year. The act, applicable for 10 years, applied to jobs offering a maximum gross monthly salary or wages of Rs 30,000.Notably, providing 75 per cent reservation in the private sector was one of the key poll promises made by Dushyant Chautala’s Jannayak Janta Party (JJP) ahead of the Assembly polls in the state in 2019. JJP is a partner of the ruling BJP in Haryana. The government had then argued that the decision will open new avenues for employment for lakhs of youth in the private sector.