Reverse this move haryana’s new reservations will hurt everyone

Reverse this move haryana’s new reservations will hurt everyone

The Haryana assembly has just passed a Bill that reserves 75% of factory and other jobs for locals. This is a great leap backwards. It follows similar steps taken by other states such as Andhra Pradesh. Even after accounting for India’s political climate of mindless populism, this is a disastrous move. It undermines the potential of Gurgaon, the economic engine of the state. Neither does it help the state in developing newer industrial clusters. It reflects very poorly on the leadership of chief minister ML Khattar.

A requirement of the Bill is that new jobs with a salary below Rs 50,000 will be reserved for locals. This is a recipe for the flight of jobs out of the state. India’s average annual per capita income is Rs 1.34 lakh. But Haryana wants to reserve jobs with an annual pay of up to Rs 6 lakh, which includes blue collar as well as many white collar workers. If industry doesn’t flee the state as a result, legal loopholes will be found to keep people off the rolls. In the process job seekers will lose out on the benefits of formalisation of jobs. It’s a lose-lose situation for all stakeholders.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has worked hard to persuade global industry that India presents an ideal investment opportunity. Legislation has been amended to ease the regulatory environment and impart flexibility to labour markets. But if state governments move in the opposite direction, Modi’s effort will have been in vain. Haryana’s reservation of jobs thus undermines the Centre’s efforts. It sends a negative signal to global investors on account of Gurgaon’s prominence. Most of all, it hurts the very people it pretends to help. For the good of the state as well as in the larger national interest, Haryana must reverse this disastrous move.