The Congress government in Karnataka has sought to amend the Karnataka Industrial Employment (Standing Orders) Rules, 1961, to provide Kannadigas with 100% reservation in blue-collar jobs in the state’s private sector industries, PTI reported on Thursday. The draft amendment has been thrown open to the public for suggestions or objections.

The amendment will be implemented after the Karnataka Law Department vets it again. It has already received Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s approval. If the private industries, besides those in the information technology and biotechnology sectors, do not follow the new guidelines, the government will cancel all concessions given to them, the report said.

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“Every industrial establishment that has obtained concession of land, water, electricity or tax rebate or deferment of tax as per state industrial policy shall provide horizontal reservation of 100% in employment to local people [Kannadigas],” the amendment said, specifying categories under which the quota should be provided to workers.

Karnataka Labour Minister Santosh Lad told The Times of India that they want private industries to give priority to Kannadigas while recruiting new employees. The IT and biotech sectors have been exempted from these amendments as they are not covered under the rules till 2019. A 5% reservation for a disabled Kannadiga person is also proposed.

However, it has been highlighted that providing such reservations could hinder growth in the state because skilled labour was already lacking, Business Standard reported. Industry bodies have also urged the state to not go ahead with this quota or threaten to cancel concessions. They warned that the move could make Karnataka less attractive to the private sector and suggested raising incentives to firms that promote employment of locals.