SRINAGAR: The Jammu and Kashmir Cabinet on Tuesday cleared its response to the queries raised by the Union Government regarding the Cabinet’s proposal on reservation, sources disclosed.
As per sources, the Cabinet, which met here under the chairmanship of Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, discussed the draft reply prepared by the Social Welfare Department in consultation with the Department of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs to the queries raised by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on the Cabinet proposal concerning reservation.
“The Cabinet gave its go-ahead to the response,” the sources said.
According to sources, the reply addresses the query regarding the justification for a three per cent reduction in the Reserved Backward Area (RBA) category and a seven per cent reduction in the Economically Weaker Sections (EWS) category.
The response, sources added, justified the reduction in the RBA quota on the grounds that Ladakh is no longer part of Jammu and Kashmir and that areas in the Union Territory were previously covered under the RBA reservation category.
It has also been reliably learnt that the government justified the reduction in the RBA quota by noting that several areas eligible under the category are already covered by other reservation categories.
Sources further said that the government justified the reduction in the EWS quota on the grounds that the population eligible under the category in Jammu and Kashmir is comparatively smaller than in many other states.
On December 4, 2025, the Union Territory Cabinet headed by Chief Minister Omar Abdullah had approved the reservation report prepared by a three-member Cabinet Sub-Committee led by Minister Sakina Itoo.
The Cabinet proposal was subsequently forwarded to the Lieutenant Governor for approval, who referred it to the Ministry of Home Affairs for prior consideration. The MHA later returned the proposal after raising certain queries. (KNO)
