New Delhi: BJP Lok Sabha member from north-west Delhi Udit Raj on Thursday welcomed the Supreme Court decision allowing reservation in promotion of government jobs for employees belonging to the categories of Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs) and said the communities were under-represented in various categories of the central government.

Citing data from the department of personnel and training (DoPT), Dr Raj said only one SCs and three STs secretaries are in the central government presently.

“Also, the number of assistant and joint secretaries belonging to SC/ST was very low. The number of assistant and joint secretaries belonging to SC category is three and 17, respectively. In case of ST category, the number of assistant and joint secretaries is 17 and 9, respectively,” Dr Raj added.

He mentioned that it is disheartening to note that despite support from all political parties to the policy, hindrances arise from time to time in its implementation. “This is because reservation is implemented through an executive order, which leaves room for changes. It should be codified to avoid such changes, which are against the constitutional provisions,” he said.

He claimed the assumption that the performance of SC and ST officers in government jobs is low is incorrect. “There are independent studies to prove that the presence of SC/ST officers improves productivity of the concerned department,” he said.

According to Dr Raj, data from various ministries and departments of central government show that among the total of 84,705 group A posts, the representation of SCs was 11,333, ST was 5,013, OBC 11,016, and others 57,343 as on January 1, 2016. “The representation in 29,0941 Group B posts was: SCs 46,625; STs 20,915, OBCs 42,995; and others 1,80,406,” he said.

On Tuesday, the Supreme Court allowed the Centre to go ahead with reservation in promotion for employees belonging to the SC and ST category in accordance with law.

The top court took into account the Centre’s submission that the entire process of promotions had come to a standstill due to the orders passed by various high courts, and the apex court had also ordered status quo in a similar matter in 2015.