Imphal, October 13: The Tribal Youth Council Manipur (TYCM), Council Headquarters, has appealed to the State Government, particularly the Department of Personnel and Administrative Reforms (Personnel Division), to amend the wording in a key notification concerning job reservation for Scheduled Tribes (STs).
In a statement issued on Monday, TYCM called for the replacement of the word “may” with “shall” in the government’s Notification No. 9/6/2007-SC/ST/OBC/DP(Pt) dated November 14, 2014, issued by the Deputy Secretary (DP), Government of Manipur.
The council pointed out that the notification, which supplements “The Manipur Reservation of Vacancies in Posts and Services (for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes) Rules, 2011,” states that “if there are only three sanctioned posts for a particular service, the 200-point reservation roster may not apply and the third post may be automatically reserved for Scheduled Tribe.”
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According to TYCM, the use of “may” instead of “shall” renders the provision discretionary rather than mandatory, creating ambiguity and leaving room for denial of rightful reservation benefits to ST candidates. The council asserted that recruitment policies must be clear and binding to ensure fair representation of tribal communities in government employment.
“The use of the word ‘may’ weakens the enforcement of reservations and directly suppresses the rights of tribal communities, violating the principles of equality and justice enshrined in the law,” TYCM stated.
The council further expressed disappointment over the State Government’s inaction despite having submitted a representation to the Chief Secretary on March 26, 2025. “Even after six months, no positive step has been taken,” it said.
TYCM also voiced concern over what it described as “sluggish administration” under the current President’s Rule in Manipur. The council noted that while the tribal populace had expected faster decision-making under President’s Rule, the pace of file processing and administrative response had instead slowed down.
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The organization urged the concerned authorities to take prompt corrective measures to uphold the rights and representation of Scheduled Tribes in Manipur’s public service sector.