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Reservation Bill to be tabled
KATHMANDU, APR 04 -
A much-awaited and debated bill on inclusion that aims to make public services more inclusive and participatory will soon be tabled in the Legislature-Parliament.
A meeting of the Bill Committee of the Cabinet has approved the bill and the government will soon table it in the Parliament.
However, though the proposed bill incorporates agreements made with the Tharu community last year, it excludes disabled people from availing of reservations in the Special Services Sector. The name of the bill has also been changed; earlier, it was called the Inclusive bill, but now, the name has been changed to “Bill to Make the Public Services Inclusive”.
Last year, the government had tabled the same bill in the Parliament but had withdrawn it after the Tharus and other indigenous communities flayed some provisions of the bill. The government has now prepared a revised version of the bill and has attempted to address the demands put forth by the Tharu community.
A high-level source at the office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers said, “In the older version, the Tharu community was enlisted in the Madhesi Community which was highly objected to by the Tharus. The revised bill has established a separate identity for the Tharu
community and they will get reservation in public services accordingly.”
The new provision has been made as per the agreement between the government and the Tharu community made a-year-and-a-half ago.
The Tharu community has been demanding a separate identity in the Tarai and Madhes. Raj Kumar Lekhi, Chairman of Tharu Welfare Council, said they would appreciate the new bill if their concerns were addressed. “However, we can comment about it further only after a detailed study of the bill,” he said.
According to the revised version of the bill, physically-disabled groups will not get reservations in the Special Service Sector such as National Investigation Police and Intelligence Services. The older version had provisions that allowed reservations for physically-disabled people at these services.
However, while finalising the bill, Home Minister Bhim Rawal said that physically-disabled people should not get reservations at special services as they cannot do the work, the source added.
Posted on: 2010-04-05 08:01
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