By: Nadeem Furqan (Ziraat Times)
Srinagar: As the Jammu & Kashmir cabinet, chaired by Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, referred the long-awaited Cabinet Sub-Committee (CSC) report on the reservation policy to the Law Department for “legal examination”, the large constituency of open merit citizens and students are expressing disappointment that the details of the CSC report have not been made public and that no timeline has been fixed for the return of the report.
The absence of a firm deadline for the Law Department’s opinion may prolong uncertainty for students and stakeholders awaiting clarity on the future of the reservation policy, said Naveed Hassan, a student activist who has been leading students calling for a just and equitable policy on Reservations in J&K.
The cabinet meeting, which was held in Srinagar, and attended by all members of the CSC on Reservation, including Health and Medical Education Minister Sakina Itoo, PHE, Irrigation & Flood Control Minister Javed Rana, Food, Civil Supplies & Transport Minister Satish Sharma, Deputy Chief Minister Surinder Choudhary, and Agriculture & Rural Development Minister Javed Dar, lasted for one hour and included several other agenda items. A source told Ziraat Times that the limited time spent on review and discussion on the CSC report did not help an extensive discussion.
Sources confirmed that after cabinet’s deliberations on the CSC’s recommendations the members unanimously decided that the legal implications of any changes — especially concerning the general category or open merit quota —require thorough vetting by the Law Department.
“No timeline has been fixed by the Cabinet for the return of the report,” official sources said, indicating the process may be open-ended. The CSC report will be sent back to the Cabinet only after legal scrutiny is complete, at which point a final decision is expected.
This development is likely to come as a disappointment to many open merit students who were expecting the report to be made public along with a clear and time-bound roadmap from the J&K government regarding its implementation.
According to sources, any increase in the open merit quota, currently at 30 percent, without reducing allocations for other reserved categories, which collectively account for nearly 70 percent of total reservations in J&K, is seen as difficult by the NC government. That is more so that the National Conference has significant voting base from the reserved categories.
Presently, the breakdown of reservation in J&K includes:
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20% for Scheduled Tribes (STs) – equally split between Gujjars & Bakerwals and Pahari Ethnic Tribes
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10% for Residents of Backward Areas
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10% for Economically Weaker Sections (EWS)
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8% for Other Backward Classes (OBCs)
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8% for Scheduled Castes (SCs)
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4% for Residents near the Line of Actual Control (ALC)/International Border (IB)
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10% horizontal reservation – including 6% for Ex-Servicemen and 4% for Persons with Disabilities (PwDs)
