Whatever the reasons behind the decision for the government to abolish the Self Help Groups of Engineers alongside 30 percent work quota allotted to them, the repercussions are grave and the decision calls for a review in favour of thousands of people rendered jobless as a consequence of it.
Under the SHG scheme, small government contracts were allotted to out of work engineers to sustain a decent and respectable livelihood.
As per the Directorate of Employment, there are around 700 Self Help Groups (SHGs) of Engineers registered in and around 3000 Degree and Diploma holders are involved. From 2010 to November 2019, as many as 7819 works, amounting to Rs 584.18 crores have been allotted to SHGs of Engineers by line departments. The administration’s decision to do way with SHGs ought to be analyzed in a large picture.
If the government is seeing them as 3000 individuals, the view is erroneous simply because they represent 3000 families and their livelihood is directly dependent on continued functioning of SHGs.
In fact, the alternative arrangement was thought of and implemented during 2004 by the then J&K Government in response to the agitating engineers and diploma holders who were demanding Government jobs. In fact, they were adjusted and since then 16 years have passed without there being any protest seeking placement in government departments by these engineers.
Also, most of them, if not all, have already passed the upper age limit for the applying for the government job commensurate to their degrees and diplomas achieved through hardworking.
There can be some shortcomings in the SHGs which can be rectified but abolishing the reservation clause defeats the main purpose of the scheme for which it was planned and executed in J&K.
Is the administration in a position to provide government jobs to these educated youth? The answer seems not that convincing even though abolishing the reservations of projects for such professionals, the administration is only adding to the burgeoning rate of unemployment. The decision is also beside the point in contemporary times of covid-19 pandemic which has already accounted for jobs of thousands of people especially in the private sector and in the unorganized sector across the country. At a time when decisions needed to be taken as to how to provide help, relief and succour to the affected people due to the deleterious and telling effects of the pandemic, at least the decision by the government regarding SHGs could have been deferred or in alternative livelihood arrangements made for thousands of people associated it with the scheme for 16 long years. Any decision which renders people jobless merits an urgent review and immediate rescinding.
