J&K Reservation Policy Overhaul: Cabinet to Decide on Major Changes

Jammu and Kashmir’s government is on the verge of a significant overhaul of its reservation policy for government jobs and educational institutions. A crucial cabinet meeting scheduled for tomorrow, December 3rd, is expected to finalize sweeping changes. This move comes amidst escalating public pressure and protests from general-category job aspirants who feel disadvantaged by the current extensive reservation system. The existing policy, largely established under a previous administration, allocates a substantial portion of seats, often between 60-70%, to various reserved categories, leaving a limited open-merit quota. This has fueled widespread frustration among the general category, which constitutes approximately 69% of the population. The government, led by Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, is attempting to address these concerns, which were a key promise in their election manifesto. A cabinet sub-committee has reportedly submitted recommendations to reallocate seats, aiming to increase the open-merit share while respecting the Supreme Court’s 50% reservation cap. Reductions are anticipated primarily from categories like Residents of Backward Areas (RBA) and Economically Weaker Sections (EWS), with constitutional reservations for Scheduled Castes (SC), Scheduled Tribes (ST), and Other Backward Classes (OBC) remaining untouched. The Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh High Court is also reviewing the current policy, potentially influencing the upcoming decisions.