Andhra Pradesh Assessing Ways To Implement 100 Per Cent Local ST Reservation In Scheduled Tribal Areas

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu announced on Monday (12 May) that his government is assessing ways to implement 100 per cent reservation for local Scheduled Tribe (ST) candidates in government jobs across all tribal (Scheduled) areas of the state, the Indian Express reported.

Speaking during a review meeting on Tribal Welfare, Naidu said the administration is looking into options to revive Government Order (GO) No. 3, which was struck down by the Supreme Court in 2020. Originally issued in 2000, the GO mandated that all teaching posts in schools located in scheduled areas be filled exclusively by local tribal candidates.

Restoring this provision was one of Naidu’s key election promises in 2024.

Naidu recalled that a similar order issued in 1986 had already granted 100 per cent reservation for teaching positions in agency areas. The 2000 GO was later introduced to address legal considerations, including gender reservation. “After its implementation, Girijans secured 4,626 teaching posts in agency regions,” he said, as quoted by the Indian Express.

However, the Supreme Court eventually invalidated the GO, and the previous state government’s delay in filing a timely review petition led to the appeal being dismissed, effectively ending the benefits it had offered to tribal communities.

At Monday’s meeting, the focus was on identifying legal and constitutional pathways to restore or reintroduce the quota. Officials informed the CM that there are three potential approaches: reinstating full reservation for local tribes, aligning quotas with tribal population ratios, or limiting reservation to 50 per cent in line with Supreme Court guidance.

Naidu stressed the need for wide consultation: “Discussions should be held with legal and Constitutional experts at national level.” He further said, “There is no question of leaving any opportunity available to do justice to tribals.”

He also directed officials to gather feedback from tribal communities and their representative organisations on the restoration of GO No. 3.