J&K cabinet discusses critical administrative issues including reservation policy for govt jobs
Srinagar, June 23
A meeting of the J&K Cabinet, chaired by Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, was held here on Tuesday in which several important administrative issues, including the Centre's response to the proposals of the cabinet sub-committee on reservations were discussed.
"Chief Minister chaired a meeting of the Council of Ministers at the Civil Secretariat, Srinagar today. The meeting deliberated on a range of proposals and policy matters aimed at strengthening governance, accelerating development and improving public service delivery across Jammu & Kashmir," the CM's Office said in a post on X.
On December 10, 2024, the J&K Cabinet set up the cabinet sub-committee, which submitted its report after six months on June 10, 2025.
The Cabinet then sought advice from the Law Department and finalised the report accordingly. It approved the report on December 4, 2025 and sent it to the Lieutenant Governor.
According to the report, the Open Merit jobs and seats were proposed to go up to 40 per cent, as against the present 30 per cent.
At present, reservations, including those for economically weaker sections, have gone up to 70 per cent in J&K, leaving only 30 per cent jobs and seats for Open Merit candidates, resulting in strong resentment among the youth.
Currently, the ST-I, ST-II, RBA, and EWS categories each have 10 per cent reservation, while the Scheduled Castes and OBCs each have 8 per cent quota, and the ALC/IB category has 4 per cent reservation.
Besides, there is a 10 per cent horizontal reservation, including 6 per cent to ex-servicemen and four per cent to Persons with Disabilities (PwDs).
The L-G had returned the cabinet recommendations to the J&K government without approving them, along with observations from the Ministry of Home Affairs on the issue of reservations in the UT.
The J&K cabinet is now trying to navigate its way to ensure that the open merit quota goes up to at least 40 per cent for recruitments in government jobs and in admissions to professional colleges, etc.
— IANS
Reader Comments
As an outsider looking in, I find this fascinating. India's reservation system is so complex—vertical + horizontal, multiple categories... I wonder if it really helps the most disadvantaged or just creates new lobbies. The 70% reserved seems extreme for a UT.
I belong to an OBC family from Jammu region, and I genuinely feel the current system needs rebalancing. My parents struggled, yes, but now my cousin who is equally qualified lost a job to someone from a creamy layer in ST category. Open merit should be at least 50% to restore faith. Omar sahab is trying, but L-G blocking shows Centre-Raj Bhawan friction again.
Main baat yeh hai ki reservations ka burden sirf general category pe nahi hona chahiye. Jab 70% already reserved hai, toh competition already skewed hai. Aur fir EWS bhi add kar diya—that's 10% more! Kuch log kehte hain ki merit suffers. But I understand the historical need for ST/SC/OBC quotas. The solution? Increase total seats, don't just reshuffle percentages. But budget nahi hai na? 😔
Interesting that the L-G returned it with MHA observations. Seems like the political tug-of-war between elected government and Centre is alive and well in J&K. From a governance perspective, 30% open merit does sound low—that's only 3 in 10 jobs based purely on ability. But quotas have protected marginalized groups for decades. Hard to find the sweet spot.
Honest opinion: The sub-committee took six months
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