Despite MHA’s 2016 order, BSF yet to implement women’s quota

New Delhi: Despite a written standing government order from the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), calling for reservation in paramilitary forces, including CRPF, CISF, BSF, SSB and ITBP, during the recruitment process, the same is yet to be implemented by the Border Security Force (BSF).
The MHA on 5 January 2016 vide its order number 45015/16/2015/pers.1, which had the subject “Enhancement of representations of women in CAPFs” had issued a direction “to reserve 33% posts at constable level for being filled up by women in CRPF and CISF to begin with and 14% and 15% posts at Constable level in border guarding forces i.e BSF, SSB and ITBP. This reservation would be horizontal”.
However, the said order was not implemented by the BSF, which in July 2018 had conducted recruitments of constable, technical motor transport workshop cadre which was re-conducted again in August 2019, the result of which was declared in September 2019.
Several women candidates, who took the examination and cleared the written and medicals, said that they have not been allowed to join as the reservation policy for women candidates, that was issued by the MHA on 5 January 2016, has not been implemented while conducting the recruitment done by the BSF for those individuals who cleared this examination and the medicals.
One such candidate, Anusuya Haldar, a resident of Hooghly, West Bengal, who appeared in the examination conducted by the BSF, and cleared all the processes for the post of “turner”, is still awaiting her appointment order despite getting the 54th rank on the merit list. “I have written to everyone who can help me in this matter—the BSF officials, the Home Ministry, the Prime Minister’s Office—but I am yet to receive any response. If the BSF had implemented the reservation which was ordered by the MHA three years before they conducted this examination, I would have been selected, but they have not. I have spent a lot of time and effort to prepare for this examination. I hope the government reads your report and takes cognizance,” she told The Sunday Guardian.
The Sunday Guardian’s email to the MHA spokesperson and the spokesperson of the BSF elicited no response until the time of the report going to the press.