Close on the heels of moving a resolution to implement 10% reservation for economically weaker sections (EWS) in Devaswom recruitment, the Nair Service Society (NSS) has come out against the State government, terming the criteria set for determining the EWS status as unethical and discriminatory.

In a statement on Saturday, NSS general secretary G. Sukumaran Nair said that the four conditions as stipulated by the latest government notification of November 19, 2019 are indeed unrealistic.

Rule 2 (A) of the notification seeks to leave out those who have one of their family members permanently employed in either a government or quasi-government establishment and those having anyone in their family eligible for paying Income Tax from availing themselves of the reservation.

Exemption

Similarly, people who posses over one acre as family property and having at least one member in their family with a monthly income of ₹25,000 etc too have been exempted from the reservation net.

While applicants from about 150 communities in the non-reservation section will have to satisfy all these conditions to avail themselves of the reservation, the lone condition applicable to candidates in the reservation category is the creamy-layer income limit set by the State government, he said.

“These conditions have been set with an intention to deny benefits to even the most eligible as even the 10% reservation brought in by the Central government stipulates a simple income limit of ₹4 lakh. There is an urgent need for the government to intervene and make necessary corrections,” read the statement.