KSU Demands Immediate Release of ‘200-Kg’ Report on Meghalaya Job Quota Policy

The Khasi Students’ union (KSU), an influential pressure group in Meghalaya, today demanded that the “200 kilogram” report of the Expert Committee on the Meghalaya's job reservation policy, 1972 should be made public immediately.

The expert committee, headed by Madhya Pradesh High Court Justice (retired) Mool Chand Garg, submitted its report to the State government last year.

Chief Minister Conrad Sangma has assured that the findings of the expert committee will be made public soon.

“It’s huge. That’s like 4,000-5,000 pages... We needed a special vehicle to get the report as we couldn’t get it in a flight, because it is so big. So it’s 200 kgs of paperwork,” Sangma said.

The Chief Minister said senior government officials, including the Chief Secretary, are required to scrutinise the document in detail, as even minor wording could have significant implications.

“Each page and line must be reviewed thoroughly. Once the officials complete their examination and the report is presented to the cabinet, it will be released without delay,” he said.

However, KSU President Lambokstar Marngar said the union is unable to comprehend the weight of the report.

“Whatever the weight of the report may be, the government should make it public soon,” Marngar said.

Marngar felt that a policy-related report need not be excessively lengthy.

“This is a policy matter, not the Constitution of India. If the government is serious about improving the job reservation policy, a concise report should be sufficient,” he explained.

Marngar said that the KSU would soon held a meeting with other pressure groups to take a decision on putting pressure on Conrad Sangma to make public the recommendations of expert committee on the state job reservation policy.

Earlier, the opposition Voice of People’s Party (VPP) has criticised the government for delay in making the report public.

“This is the first time we have encountered such an excuse—citing the physical size and weight of a report as a barrier to its disclosure,” VPP President Ardent Miller Basaiawmoit said.

The current job reservation policy entitles members of the Garo and Khasi-Jaintia communities to 40 per cent of state government jobs each even though the Garo population is significantly smaller than the Khasi-Jaintia population.