Promise of quota in private sector jobs was made by Dushyant Chautala before the election (File)
A Haryana government ordinance reserving 75 per cent of jobs in the private sector for residents of the state is applicable only for positions paying below Rs 50,000 per month, Haryana Deputy Chief Minister Dushyant Chautala said Tuesday evening.
Mr Chautala, whose Jannayak Janata Party rules the state in alliance with the BJP and had promised the reservation during elections last year, clarified it would be applicable to all sectors and said "if in the future there is a problem, we'll look into it".
"As of today this is applicable to all sectors. One out of four employees can be from out of state but three have to be from the state (but) we are not mandating anything beyond the salary grade of Rs 50,000 per month," the Deputy Chief Minister told NDTV.
"People with high skill-set won't work for less than Rs 50,000. Above this paygrade, companies can hire whoever their want," he added.
The ordinance is applicable only to companies with more than 10 employees.
Defending the ordinance, Mr Chautala said: "This will help residents get employment in the state. This kind of law exists in other states and we need to create employment in Haryana".
The JJP chief pointed to automobile major Maruti, which has a manufacturing plant in Manesar near Delhi, and said: "Maruti doesn't even have 20 per cent staff from Haryana".
"We want to create employment in the state so that GST is also generated in the state," he added.
Mr Chautala also said private companies could make use of a government portal to help find suitable talent. "We are like a support to an existing HR team," he claimed.
On Monday, after a draft of the ordinance was passed by the state cabinet, Mr Chautala said companies that failed to register on the aforementioned government portal would be fined under the Haryana State Employment to Local Candidates Ordinance. The fines will range from Rs 25,000 to Rs 1 lakh.
The Deputy Chief Minister also said that domicile certificates would be mandatory for a candidate to claim these benefits under this scheme.
Private companies would only be allowed to hire from outside Haryana if they informed the government they had been unable to find a suitable candidate from within the state.