Srinagar: Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha has okayed the three-member panel of the Omar Abdullah led government on reviewing the reservation policy in the union territory.
In its maiden cabinet meeting in Jammu last month, the government formed a panel of ministers led by Health and Education Minister Sakeena Itoo to review the J&K Reservation Policy in the face of mounting anger among open merit aspirants.
The procedure in the union territory mandates the cabinet notes have to be sent for nod by the LG Sinha. The approval has come almost more than two weeks later now, allowing the Omar Abdullah led government some relief.
Besides Itoo, the panel includes PHE Minister Javed Ahmad Rana and Minister for Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs Satish Sharma, an official order said.
It said that the committee will examine the grievances of a section of aspirants for various posts regarding reservation rules in consultation with stakeholders.
“The committee shall be serviced by the social welfare department and shall submit its report to the council of ministers,” said the order undersigned by the commissioner secretary to the general administration department.
The issue has become one of the priorities for the Omar led government amid mounting pressure from the aspirants and political opponents in the region. The ruling National Conference had pledged to review the policy in their manifesto as the general category felt their opportunities were squeezed by the inclusion of more groups.
The BJP led central government passed a law in the Parliament amending the Jammu and Kashmir Reservation Act, paving way for quotas for newly inducted Pahari Speaking Peoples Tribes and increasing 4 percent to Other Backward Classes (OBCs), squeezing the space for general category in government employment and education institutions.
The total population of J&K as per the last census in 2011 stands at 1.25 crore). Of them, Scheduled Tribes comprise 14,93,299, about 11.90 percent of the total population while as Scheduled Castes are 9,24,991 in population, comprising about 7.37 percent.
Notified in March 2024, the quotas now include 10 percent to Social Castes, 20 percent to Scheduled Tribes, 10 percent to Residents of Backward Areas, 8 percent to Other Backward Classes, 4 percent to residents along Actual Line of Control and International Border and while Economically weaker sections stands at 10 percent.
The proportion has left the general category aspirants scrambling for their rights that falls between 30-40 percent, depending on the recruiting department.
But officials and legal experts said the rules would not allow the J&K government to alter the changes in the policy and can only recommend their suggestions to the central government. The amendment, according to them, has to be passed by the Parliament.
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