Jammu (The STellar News), Anil Bhardwaj: All India Confederation of SC/ST/OBC Organisations, J&K unit protested at Jammu and joined in the nationwide protest. The President of All J&K SC/ST/OBC CONFEDERATION draw the kind attention towards the aspirations and demands of sc/st/obc communities and said that the empirical data available in the public domain, it would be apposite to say that the downtrodden communities have progressed due to the policies of the government and the employment avenues provided by the state. In contrast to these trends, the government has decided to privatise the public sector units by selling them to private players. There are over a dozen of PSUS which have already been privatised and a lot more are under the project of privatisation. The rationale given by the government is that these policies which help in monetisation of the public sector assets.
The Nalional Monctisation Pipeline project launched by the Povernment plans to monetise 6 lakh crores over a period of four years. But it is important to note that these policies will also reduce the opportunities for development and growth of the vulnerable sections of the society, be it on the basis of caste or class, the economically weaker sections. There were about 348 CPSCs in existence in 2018, with a total investnent of 16.4 trillion and about 10.3 lakh employees in Central Public Sector enterprises ( in 2019). Push for massive privatization resulting in mass layoffs in period of low job creation. A greater concencentration of public
assets in select private hands is also a medium-term concern. About 70% of all profits generated In the corporate sector in FY20 were with just 20 firms. Since the SC/ST/OBC communities are not part of these big firms, they rely on seeking employment, which will get disturbed by privatisation. Such concentration, mixed with the privatization of public assets, is likely to lead to higher usage fees (already being seen in telecom) and inflation, coupled with a loss of strategic control. Two major CPSES, Air India and BPCL (Bharat Petroleum), are privatised by the government. These are major employment giving units and this will harm the vulnerable sections which depended not just on their services but also the employment. Other than these, few of the railways and airports are privatised, electricity is being privatised in J&K as well and saw a huge backlash from people, Bharat Aluminium Company (BALCO), Hindustan Zinc, Indian Petrochemicals Corporation Limited, and various state government establishments which included many state public sector units are also privatised. Adding to this, we also demand reservation in judicial appointments and army recruitment, stoppage of contractual labour, clearance of pending backlog and vacancies, among others. Moreover, the administration of J&K UT has started to invite private players to the UT. Recently, a Gulf Countries Summit was held at SKICC Kashmir on 22nd March.
This will harm the reserved as well as the general category youth and entrepreneurs. There is already a backlog of approximately 1.04 lakh SC/ST/OBC youth fin employment. The push for privatisation will only increase the number as there will not be avenues of availing reservations. We would like to draw the attention towards the ideals enshrined in the constitution of India which point towards social justice. The means to achieve this by bring people from under represented communities in the bolitical sphere or by giving benefits in the employment. Sadly our people are under represented in the political sphere and with privatisation of the public assets, the employment perks via reservation will also go down. This was not only push these communities lower in the hierarchy but also devalue the ideals of the Constitution of India. It has been noted that PSUs have historically played an active role in developing backward regions. Importantly, through reservations, PSUS bave ensured high-qualily jobs for Dalits, Adivasis and Other Backward Classes, Once PSUs are privatised or disinvested to below 50% Govt. Ownership . Reservation for these historically marginalised sections will become history. Disregard to how PSU employees will cope with the lay-offs that will inevitably follow.
Lastly, Reservation in Promotions has been struck down in J&K and we demand that it should be restored retrospectively from 2015. Reservation in Promotions is being availed by other Indian citizens. It is a humble submission that it should be restored immediately, We hope that His Excellency would pay heed to our demands and bring them up with the honourable Prime Minister of India and honourable Lieutenant Governor, J&K to take up the interest of SC/ST/OBC communities and other vulnerable sections of the society. We demand that either privatisation should be stopped or the constitutional rights of vulnerable sections be insured with guarantee. A large no. Of people were gathered in protest rally.
