- Cabinet Moves to Balance Social Justice with Merit; Open Merit Jobs May Touch 40–50%
JAMMU, Dec 3: The Jammu and Kashmir Cabinet today approved a sweeping overhaul of the Union Territory’s Reservation Policy, raising the share of Open Merit seats and jobs by an estimated 10 percent while reducing the quotas for the Economically Weaker Sections (EWS) and Residents of Backward Areas (RBA). The proposed changes, recommended by the Cabinet Sub Committee (CSC), will now be sent to Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha for final approval.
During a detailed 90-minute meeting chaired by Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, the Cabinet cleared the long-pending proposal to rationalize reservation percentages, bringing down the EWS quota by 7 percent to 3 percent and cutting the RBA quota by 3 percent to 7 percent. Sources said the move aims to correct distortions that had pushed total vertical reservations to nearly 70 percent, leaving only 30 percent seats for Open Merit candidates. Once approved by the LG, the Open Merit share is expected to rise to a minimum of 40 percent in direct vacancies and nearly 50 percent under the vertical reservation mechanism.
Officials pointed out that the reduction in RBA quota was also necessitated by Ladakh’s exclusion from the erstwhile J&K framework following its designation as a separate Union Territory in 2019. Allegations that politicians and local administrators routinely manipulated RBA categorizations for personal gain were also discussed during the meeting.
The Cabinet gave its nod to several other key proposals, including the establishment of an Animal Protection Board, promotions and service-related matters in the Roads & Buildings (R&B) Department, and financial strengthening of cooperative societies involved in livestock and fisheries. The inclusion of the Ahangar and Waghey/Chopan communities in the OBC list was also approved.
Addressing reporters later, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah refrained from disclosing the exact figures linked to Open Merit expansion but insisted the policy had been rationalized with “maximum fairness” to all sections and in accordance with a major election promise. He stressed that the government did not want to disadvantage any category while ensuring that merit-based selections remain protected.
He acknowledged the sensitivity of the issue, noting that reservation reforms often trigger political protests and misinformation campaigns. “We have tried to adopt a transparent and balanced approach. The Cabinet has revisited the issue multiple times. Each recommendation was examined in detail,” he said.
Omar also took questions on a range of issues including the construction of a new Kashmir House in Delhi, proposals for Chief Engineers in R&B, revival of cooperative societies, and the simmering controversy surrounding MBBS admissions at the Shrine Board-run SMVDIME. On the latter, he sharply opposed calls for religious-based seat allocation, stating that such a move would violate the Constitution unless the institution voluntarily transforms into a minority-administered entity and relinquishes government grants and land incentives.
On electoral concerns raised by some political groups over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, Omar urged the Election Commission to brief all parties collectively to remove doubts and ensure full transparency. While reiterating his stand that Electronic Voting Machines cannot be manipulated, he said there were legitimate concerns about delimitation decisions taken after the 2019 Reorganization Act.
The Chief Minister revealed that the matter of daily wagers was also discussed extensively in the Cabinet. The Chief Secretary has been asked to submit a comprehensive report at the earliest for a final decision.
All Cabinet decisions will take effect only after final approval by the Lieutenant Governor.