346 DR. BABASAHEB AMBEDKAR : WRITINGS AND SPEECHES
1946 the total number of posts was 181, and notwithstanding the difficulties to which my Honourable friend the Home Member referred in the matter of observing the communal proportions during the war emergency, the Muslims had 21.1 per cent. Now, this probably may not quite give enough comfort for the Mover of this cut motion, and I therefore propose to take the time of the house further to analyse the composition of the gazetted posts in the C.P.W.D. in the year 1946, taking the different grades for finding out the percentages. In Superintending Engineers, the total posts are
14 and there is one Muslim—which gives 7 per cent. Of Executive Engineers there are 64 and the Muslim percentage is 18 per cent. Electrical Engineers are 12 and the Muslim quota is 6 2/3 per cent. Assistant Executive Engineers— the quota for Muslims is 14 per cent. Temporary Engineers total 72 and the Muslim percentage is 32 per cent. While discussing the C.P.W.D. one of my Honourable friends—I forget which it was, mentioned the question of contracts of the Lodi Road.........
Mr. Ahmed E.H. Jaffer (Bombay Southern Division—Muhammadan Rural): Myself.
The Honourable Dr. B.R. Ambedkar : I think yourself. I forget exactly the figure mentioned by the Honourable Member.
Mr. Ahmed E.H. Jaffer : 5 Crores.
The Honourable Dr. B.R. Ambedkar : His complaint was that in the contracts for the Lodi Road works, the Muslim contractors got a very small percentage. I ‘forget the exact figure.
Mr. Ahmed E.H. Jaffer : I referred to the Lodi Road colony in particular and there are so many others in general.
The Honourable Dr. B.R. Ambedkar : The Honourable Member made his speech towards the end of the day and it was impossible for me to get the necessary figures but the figures are these.
Dr. Sir Zia Uddin Ahmed (United Provinces Southern Division—Muhammadan Rural): There was no necessity for you to intervene at this stage. You could have waited for some time longer.
The Honourable Dr. B.R. Ambedkar : I am very much obliged to my Honourable friend for this advice but I thought it desirable to let the Muslim League have sufficient time for their oilier cut motions. That is the reason why I intervened. Otherwise it was really a general motion. I had no desire to intervened at all and there was no necessity