With the reservation policy topping the agenda, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah has convened a high-level Cabinet meeting on December 3, where the Government is expected to take major decisions, including increasing the Open Merit quota in jobs and educational institutions.
Official sources said that the meeting will be held at 9 am in the Civil Secretariat Jammu and will be the first formal Cabinet meet after the annual Durbar Move.Sources said the reservation overhaul will be a key discussion point as the Government plans to amend Reservation Rules to rationalize quotas in certain categories, especially Resident of Backward Areas (RBA) and Economically Weaker Sections (EWS), to accommodate the proposed hike in Open Merit share.
According to officials, the EWS quota capped at a maximum of 10 percent as per guidelines may see adjustments if justified by the Government. The RBA quota, once as high as 20 percent, has already been reduced to 10 percent amid concerns that influential individuals benefited disproportionately.
“The Government needs to cut around 10 percent from various categories excluding those mandated by Parliament like SC, ST, and OBC to enhance Open Merit to 40 percent,” sources said.
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)