CM Calls Crucial Cabinet Meet, Major Changes in Reservation Policy Likely
Jammu, Dec 2: Chief Minister Omar Abdullah has called a high-level Cabinet meeting for December 3, with reservation policy reforms set to dominate the discussions. The Government is likely to take key decisions, including raising the Open Merit quota in both government jobs and educational institutions.
Officials informed Kashmir News Corner (KNC) that the meeting is scheduled for 9 a.m. at the Civil Secretariat in Jammu and will mark the first formal Cabinet session following the annual Durbar Move.
According to sources, the Government intends to revise the Reservation Rules as part of a broader restructuring of quotas, particularly those for Residents of Backward Areas (RBA) and Economically Weaker Sections (EWS), to make room for the proposed increase in Open Merit seats.
Officials noted that while the EWS quota is capped at 10 percent under existing guidelines, the Government may consider modifications if deemed appropriate. The RBA quota, which once stood at 20 percent, was earlier reduced to 10 percent due to concerns that it disproportionately favored influential groups.
“The Government needs to reduce roughly 10 percent from various categories—excluding those protected under parliamentary law such as SC, ST, and OBC—in order to raise the Open Merit quota to 40 percent,” the sources added.
Currently, reservation in J&K stands at 70 percent. The highest share 20 percent goes to Scheduled Tribes (10 percent each to Gujjar-Bakerwal and Pahari Ethnic Tribes), followed by 10 percent each for RBA and EWS, eight percent for OBC, eight percent for SC, and four percent for ALC/IB residents. Horizontal reservation of 10 percent is provided to Ex-servicemen and Persons with Disabilities.
The Cabinet Sub Committee (CSC) on Reservation was constituted on December 10, 2024, following protests by general category aspirants. It submitted its recommendations on June 10, 2025, followed by scrutiny from the Law Department.
These recommendations are now expected to come up for final decision in tomorrow’s Cabinet meeting. “All decisions of the Cabinet will ultimately require approval from the Lieutenant Governor,” sources added.
Earlier, the Finance Department advertised 600 posts of Accounts Assistants, with only 240 of those allocated to the Open Merit (OM) category. This has upset the youth falling under OM category, leading them to renew their demand for a review of the existing reservation policy in the Union Territory.
Of the 600 posts of Accounts Assistants advertised by J&K Services Selection Board, only 40% posts (24O) were kept for OM aspirants while 360 posts have been reserved for various categories—48 for Scheduled Castes (SC), 60 each for Scheduled Tribes (ST1 and ST2), 48 for Other Backward Classes (OBC), 24 for ALC/IB, 60 for the Residents of Backward Areas (RBA), and another 60 for Economically Weaker Sections. The general category students argue that they are being sidelined in government recruitment.
Earlier, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Friday said that the cabinet would address the issue of rationalising job reservations in its next meeting.
“A cabinet meeting will be held. We were constrained by the fact that I did not want anybody to sabotage this by going to the Election Commission because of the (model) code of conduct. Now that the code of conduct is over, the elections are over, the concerned minister will present the memo in the next cabinet meeting, and we will discuss it then,” CM Omar told reporters at the end of the two-day working committee meeting of his party on Friday November 28. (KNC)
