 Early Times Report
Jammu, Dec 2: Amid intense debate over existing reservation rules in Jammu and Kashmir, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah has called a high-level Cabinet meeting on December 3. The meeting is expected to take up several landmark decisions, including a proposed increase in the Open Merit (OM) quota for jobs and educational institutions.
According to official sources, the meeting will begin at 9 a.m. at the Civil Secretariat in Jammu. It marks the first formal Cabinet session following the annual Durbar Move.
Senior officials confirmed that a comprehensive revamp of the reservation framework will dominate discussions. The government is considering amendments to the Reservation Rules to rationalize quotas—particularly those for the Resident of Backward Areas (RBA) and Economically Weaker Sections (EWS)—to enable a larger share for Open Merit candidates. Currently, the EWS quota is capped at 10 percent under central guidelines, though revisions may be explored if justified. The RBA category, once allotted 20 percent, was reduced to 10 percent amid concerns that benefits were being monopolized by influential groups rather than genuinely disadvantaged communities.
The push for rationalisation gained momentum after the government set up a Cabinet Sub-Committee (CSC) on December 10, 2024, following widespread protests from general category aspirants. The CSC submitted its recommendations on June 10, 2025, which were later vetted by the Law Department. These proposals will now be tabled before the Cabinet for final consideration. Any decision taken will ultimately require the Lieutenant Governor’s approval.
The issue resurfaced recently when the Finance Department advertised 600 Accounts Assistant posts, allocating only 240 (40 percent) to Open Merit. The remaining 360 were distributed across reserved categories—48 for SC, 60 each for ST-I and ST-II, 48 for OBC, 24 for ALC/IB, 60 for RBA, and 60 for EWS. This distribution sparked strong protests from Open Merit aspirants, who accused the government of sidelining them in recruitment and renewed demands for a policy overhaul.
Responding to these concerns, Omar Abdullah had earlier assured that the matter would be taken up in the next Cabinet meeting.
“A Cabinet meeting will be held. We were constrained earlier because I did not want anyone to sabotage the process by approaching the Election Commission during the Model Code of Conduct. Now that elections are over, the concerned minister will present the memo, and we will discuss it,” Abdullah said while addressing reporters after his party’s two-day working committee meeting on November 28.
The December 3 Cabinet meeting is expected to be pivotal, with decisions likely to reshape Jammu and Kashmir’s reservation landscape for years to come. |
