Lucknow, August 10
In an unprecedented move, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati in the evening today announced a reservation policy for new industries in the private sector that also includes jobs for poor upper caste people.

According to a decision taken by her Cabinet, all private entrepreneurs seeking special concessions for setting up new industrial or business units in the state would have to reserve 30 per cent posts in their companies for three different categories of employees.

"The reservations would be voluntary and implemented in units which receive state government assistance," it was decided at a meeting of the Cabinet presided over by Mayawati yesterday.

Though senior officials insisted it would be “voluntary”, they made it clear that the units not implementing the quotas would not get government assistance of any kind.

"This (quota) would be divided equally between Scheduled Castes, Other Backward Castes, including those belonging to the minority community, and the economically weak among upper castes," cabinet secretary Shashank Shekhar Singh told mediapersons here today.

"The new policy would not only apply to industrial units but also to trading houses, business ventures, dis-invested units as well as educational institutions that have sought concessions like subsidised land, tax holidays or any other grant or special rebate either directly from the state or from any agency of the state," he added.

Thus 10 per cent jobs in all such new units will go to each of the three categories. With her latest move, the Bahujan Samaj Party Chief Minister who has been a strong votary of reservations in the private sector, has visibly stumped all other political parties including the Congress.

Mayawati had mooted the idea to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh during her first meeting with him after assuming office. — Agencies