Vol. 10 · pages 731–735

710 DR. BABASAHEB AMBEDKAR : WRITINGS AND SPEECHES officiating vacancies of Inspectors of Railways labour occurred because of the deputation of two Muslims, viz., Mr. A. Hamid and Mr. A. Karim, one Sikh, Mr. T. Singh, and two caste Hindus ? The Honourable Dr. B. R. Ambedkar : It is true that the vacancies arose because of the deputations. 142 * Depressed Class Appointments of Inspectors of Railway Labour 5. Mr. Muhammad Hussain Choudhury : Will the Honourable the Labour Member please state if it is a fact that five depressed class appointments of Inspectors of Railway Labour were made without any advertisement and without selection by the Selection Board ? The Honourable Dr. B. R. Ambedkar : No. Only three Scheduled Class candidates were appointed. Recruitment was not made by advertisement or by a Selection Board. 143 @ Depressed Class Appointments of Inspectors of Railway Labour 6. Mr. Muhammad Hussain Choudhury : (a) Will the Honourable the Labour Member please state if the Conciliation Officer (Railways) and Supervisor of Railway Labour was justified in appointment of all the five new depressed class Inspectors without any selection ? Are they from amongst relatives of his own province of Bombay ? (b) Was the Conciliation Officer (Railways) and Supervisor of Railway Labour justified in appointing his relations and his own community people as clerks and Inspectors ? Is the Honourable Member aware that there were qualified depressed class candidates from other provinces also ? * Legislative Assembly Debates (Central), Vol. I of 1944, 7th February 1944, p. 25. @ Ibid., pp. 25-26.

711L. A. DEBATES (CENTRAL) QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS (c) Why did not consider the claims of those who once served creditably in officiating vacancies as Inspectors ? (d) Why did the Supervisor of Railway Labour appoint Inspectors without consulting the Selection Board ? The Honourable Dr. B. R. Ambedkar : (a), (c) and (d). I would refer to my reply to the previous question. The candidates appointed are not related to the Conciliation Officer (Railways) and Supervisor of Railway Labour. (b) I have given the information relating to Inspectors. As regards clerks out of eleven only one belongs to the Scheduled Caste whom the present Conciliation Officer (Railways) has appointed. 144 *Depressed Class Appointments of Inspectors of Railway Labour 7. Mr. Muhammad Hussain Choudhury : Is the Honourable Member for Labour prepared to consider the desirability of filling up the five vacancies of Inspectors of Railway Labour by forming a Selection Board so that the legitimate claims of all communities may not be jeopardized ? The Honourable Dr. B. R. Ambedkar : The question of filling of vacancies in the grade of Inspectors is under examination of Government. 145 @ Bengalee Inspectors in the Office of the Conciliation Officer (Railways) and Supervisor of Railway Labour 8. Mr. Muhammad Hussain Choudhury : (a) Will the Honourable Member for Labour please state how many Bengalee Inspectors there are in the office of the Conciliation Officer (Railways) and * Legislative Assembly Debates (Central), Vol. I of 1944, 7th February 1944, p. 26. @ Ibid. p. 26.

712 DR. BABASAHEB AMBEDKAR : WRITINGS AND SPEECHES Supervisor of Railway Labour ? If there is only one Bengalee, why are not more Bengalees appointed ? (b) Is it not a fact that there arc sufficient number of qualified Bengalees, both amongst Hindus and Muslims, who are awaiting chances ? The Honourable Dr. B. R. Ambedkar : (a) Two. (b) There may be sufficient and suitable Bengalees available for appointment but the presumption behind the question that the appointments arc made with any reference to the province of a candidate is not correct. 146 * Qualifications of Mr. D. G. Jadhav, Conciliation Officer (Railways) and Supervisor of Railway Labour 9. Mr. Muhammad Hussain Choudhury : (a) Will the Honourable the Labour Member state if it is true that Mr. D. G. Jadhav is at present the Conciliation Officer (Railways) and Supervisor of Railway Labour, Government of India ? If so, what are his qualifications ? Was he in Government service or in Railway service before ? (b) Will the Honourable Member please state if it is a fact that Mr. Adur Rahman Puri, the Head Clerk of the Office of the Conciliation Officer (Railways) and Supervisor of Railway Labour has been degraded to the post of an Inspector ? If so, what are the reasons ? The Honourable Dr. B. R. Ambedkar : (a) Yes. Mr. D. G. Jadhav at present holds the post. Mr. Jadhav was an elected member of the Bombay Legislative Assembly prior to his present appointment. Besides being an elected member of the Backward Class Board, Bombay, he had served on many Select Committees, Development Boards, Advisory Committees and was an arbitrator of Co-operative Societies in the District of East Khandcsh. He is a B.A., L.L.B., having graduated in 1934 and taken his law degree in 1940. He has not been in Government or Railway Service before. * Legislative Assembly Debates (Central), Vol. I of 1944, 7th February 1944, p. 26.

713L. A. DEBATES (CENTRAL) QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS (b) The Honourable Member is presumably referring to Mr. Abdul Hamid Puri. He is reverted to his substantive post of an Inspector on expiry of his tenure of appointment as Head Clerk. 147 * Conciliation Officers (Railways) and Supervisors of Railway Labour 10. Mr. Muhammad Hussain Choudhury : (a) Will the Honourable Member for Labour be pleased to state who were the Conciliation Officers (Railways) and Supervisors of Railway labour since its creation ? (b) Does he consider it desirable to post an I.C.S. Officer or otherwise an experienced officer as Conciliation Officer (Railways) and Supervisor of Railway Labour ? The Honourable Dr. B. R. Ambedkar : (a) The combined post of Conciliation Officer (Railways) and Supervisor of Railway Labour was held only by Mr. Khaleeli, I.C.S., before Mr. Jhadev was appointed to it. (b) I do not consider it necessary that the post should be held only by an I.C.S. Officer or some other person who has had experience as an Officer of Government. 148 @ Output, etc. of Coal in British India and the States 19. Mr. K. C. Neogy : Will the Honourable the Labour Member be pleased to state : (a) the output of coal in British India and in the States, separately, for the years 1941, 1942 and 1943 ; (b) the stocks of coal in British India and in the States as on the 31st December of 1941, 1942 and 1943, and * Legislative Assembly Debates (Central), Vol. 1 of 1944, 7th February 1944, pp. 26-27. @ Ibid., pp. 37-38.

714 DR. BABASAHEB AMBEDKAR : WRITINGS AND SPEECHES (c) the despatches of coal, including the colliery consumption, from collieries in British India and in the States during the years 1941, 1942 and 1943 ? The Honourable Dr. B. R. Ambedkar : (a) The output of coal in British India and the States during 1941 and 1942 was : 1941 1942 British India ... 26,088,600 25,949,800 States ... 3,260,400 3,385,100 (b) Stocks of coal in British India on the 31st December 1941, were 2,767,500 tons. Stocks on 31st December 1942, were estimated by the C.I.M. to have been 2,521,600 tons. The figures reported by collieries were found to be greatly exaggerated when they were checked by the C.I.M. Stock figures of States are not available. (c) The despatches of coal including the colliery consumption from collieries in British India during the years 1941 and 1942 were 24,257,700 tons and 22,695,800 tons respectively. The despatches of coal excluding colliery consumption from collieries in the States during 1941 and 1942 were 3,243,200 tons and 3,370,500 tons, respectively. Figures of colliery consumption in the States are not available. It is not in the public interest to disclose figures for 1943 at present. 149 * Coal Position 20. Mr. K. C. Neogy : (a) Will the Honourable the Labour Member please state to what extent the present output of coal is below the requirements of the country ? (b) Is it a fact that recently the Department of the Chief Inspector of Mines measured the stocks of the different collieries as reported to him by the respective collieries, and found a large shortage ? If so, what was the quantity of shortage, and how was it explained ? The Honourable Dr. B. R. Ambedkar : (a) It is not in the public interest to disclose to what extent the present output of coal is below the requirements of the country. * Legislative Assembly Debates (Central), Vol. I, 7th February 1944, p. 38.