Animal Protection Board, R&B promotions, aid to Coop Societies get nod
Policy rationalized to ensure justice to all sections: CM
EWS quota cut by 7 pc, RBA by 3 per cent
Sanjeev Pargal
JAMMU, Dec 3: In a major decision, the UT Cabinet today cleared new Reservation Policy for Jammu and Kashmir based on recommendations of the Cabinet Sub Committee (CSC) and forwarded it to Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha for approval.
It cut EWS quota by 7 percent and RBA by 3 percent reducing them to three and seven percent respectively.
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The Cabinet which met here this morning for one and a half hours under the chairmanship of Chief Minister Omar Abdullah gave nod to establishment of the Animal Protection Board, promotion and service-related matters of officer cadre in R&B Department and financial allocations to strengthen the Cooperative Societies.
The Cabinet also approved the inclusion of Ahangar and Waghey/Chopan communities in the OBC list.
However, as exclusively reported by the Excelsior yesterday, the Reservation Policy dominated the agenda though there were total of 22 items of different departments which were discussed by the Cabinet and most of them were cleared. All the Cabinet decisions are subject to approval of the Lieutenant Governor.
Though the Chief Minister took questions on Reservation Policy, he didn’t disclose the exact percentage which Open Merit category candidates will get in the Government jobs and educational institutions now saying his Government has rationalized the Reservation Policy in the “best possible manner” to ensure justice to all sections and fulfill a key poll promise.
However, as per the sources, the Open Merit jobs and seats may go up directly to 40 per cent and 50 per cent in vertical reservation as against present 30, as the Cabinet has approved cuts in reservation in the RBA and EWS categories. Unofficial reports suggested that there could be 7 percent cut in EWS and 3 percent in RBA quotas. However, there was no official confirmation of percentage cuts though the sources confirmed that quota in these two categories has been reduced.
Exclusion of Ladakh which was once part of Jammu and Kashmir has been cited as one of the reasons for reducing RBA quota.
Now EWS quota will come down to 3 per cent and RBA to 7 if the Cabinet proposal is approved by the LG.
Reservations including EWS had gone up to 70 per cent in J&K leaving only 30 per cent jobs and seats for Open Merit candidates resulting into strong resentment among them. Sources said the Open Merit jobs and seats will be minimum 40 percent in direct Open Merit quota and 50 percent in vertical reservation quota. However, the things will be clear only after the Lieutenant Governor approves the Policy and new Reservation Rules are framed.
RBA quota was 20 percent at one time in J&K which was subsequently brought down to 10. There were allegations that politicians and local officers got their villages included in the RBA category to avail reservation benefits for their kin.
Currently, the ST-I, ST-II, RBA, and EWS categories each have 10 percent reservation while the Scheduled Castes and OBCs each have 8 percent quota and the ALC/IB category has 4 per cent reservation. Besides, there is 10 per cent horizontal reservation including 6 per cent to Ex-servicemen and four per cent to Persons with Disabilities (PwDs).
On December 10, 2024, the Cabinet set up the CSC which submitted its report exactly after six months i.e. June 10, 2025. The Cabinet then sought advice of the Law Department and finalized the report accordingly.
Sources said the Cabinet also approved establishment of the Animal Protection Board and promotion and service-related matters of officer cadres in the R&B Department while financial allocations were sanctioned to strengthen Cooperative Societies operating in the livestock and fisheries sectors.
“The issue of daily wagers working in different Government departments was also discussed in the Cabinet. The Chief Secretary has been directed to submit a report as soon as possible because there is a major issue concerning daily wagers of various categories,” the sources said.
Meanwhile, speaking to reporters here, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah said his Government has rationalized the reservation policy in the “best possible manner” to ensure justice to all sections and fulfill a key poll promise.
“We discussed many things like construction of the new ‘Kashmir House’ in Dwarka (Delhi), proposal of Chief Engineers in the R&B department, and how to revive co-operative societies in a new way, besides the reservations,” he said.
“It would be wrong to comment on the minutes of the Cabinet meeting before sending them to the LG. I will just say that we have tried to rationalize it as we have promised. We have also tried not to be unjust to anyone,” the Chief Minister said.
Abdullah also noted that so much time was taken because “the issue is such that it is very easy to do politics with it”.
“The Cabinet has tried to adopt a transparent and fair process. Now, the matter will go to the LG. I will not say anything more until the file reaches him. Whatever you want to believe, you can believe it. We could not have done a more detailed exercise than this.
“Every issue was seen and discussed more than once. This is the third or fourth time that the matter came to the Cabinet after the sub-committee headed by Minister Sakina Itoo submitted its report. We did our best to resolve this matter,” Omar said.
On the stance of the estranged National Conference Lok Sabha MP, Aga Syed Ruhullah Mehdi, on the reservation issue, he said the Government did not do this for anyone’s satisfaction.
“This is not about an individual. This is about the people of Jammu and Kashmir, and we have fulfilled another election promise by completing this process,” he said.
Omar added that the people who were “taunting” the Government, claiming it did not do anything about the reservation, are threatening protests if injustice is done to any section.
Meanwhile, Omar urged the Election Commission to brief all political parties on the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls to address lingering concerns and ensure full transparency in the electoral process.
He said elections must always be fair and transparent, leaving no room for any complaint or suspicion, which is the responsibility of the EC.
“If there are apprehensions with regard to SIR, the EC should call all political parties and brief them about the exercise and address all the concerns,” the Chief Minister said.
Omar said he had never raised a finger of suspicion on Electronic Voting Machines because “I do not believe that these machines can be manipulated”.
However, he said it is also true that the election can be manipulated in some other way. “If you see the delimitation which was done here (following the Reorganization Act of 2019 and completed in 2022) was also an election manipulation. You increased six seats in Jammu (region) to benefit one party.
“Maybe that is why we have some concerns about SIR. It would be better if the EC calls us and explains what SIR is. And there is no need to worry about it,” he said.
Asked about a BJP delegation from J-K meeting Union Health Minister J P Nadda over the controversy related to MBBS admissions in Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Institute of Medical Excellence in Katra and demanding reserving all seats for Hindu students, the Chief Minister said, “…If you want to distribute seats on the basis of religion, then keep that place for minorities. We will invest the grant-in-aid that you get from the Government somewhere else.”
“We have no objection. You pay the price of the land that was allotted there. Stop taking the grant-in-aid that you get. Change your status. Come as a minority institution. After that, if you want to distribute seats on the basis of religion, then do it; who can stop you? But till now, you have accepted the NEET exam, and in the NEET exam, you only look at the ability and merit,” he said.
Omar said that if any student failed to get through in the merit list, “how can you blame someone else for that?”
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