SRINAGAR: The Jammu and Kashmir Government has said that the report of the Cabinet Sub-Committee constituted to review and rationalise the reservation policy has completed its prescribed process but is still awaiting a final decision from the Competent Authority, nearly two years after the panel was constituted, even as the government has declined to specify a single Open Merit percentage applicable to all government jobs and professional courses.
The position was stated in a written reply by the Social Welfare Department to a question tabled by MLA Ali Mohammad Sagar. The government said the Cabinet Sub-Committee, constituted through Government Order No. 2061-JK(GAD) of 2024 dated December 10, 2024, submitted its report and recommendations in a time-bound manner. After receiving the nod of the Council of Ministers, the report was submitted to the Competent Authority.
However, the government said the recommendations have “wider implications” for the existing reservation framework and their examination also involved consideration of observations and views received from the Government of India.
“The requisite information sought by the Government of India has also been furnished,” the department said, adding that the matter has subsequently been taken up again with the Competent Authority “for consideration and a well-considered decision in the larger public interest.”
The government has not indicated any timeline for the final decision. Asked specifically whether it proposed to take a final decision to address concerns of Open Merit students and aspirants, the department said only that “the matter is presently under consideration of the Competent Authority.”
The reply also makes clear that there is no single Open Merit quota applicable across government recruitment and professional education. The government said the percentage varies between direct recruitment to government posts, undergraduate professional courses and postgraduate professional courses because different reservation provisions apply in these areas.
The existing framework, however, provides for 50 per cent Open Merit in the reservation table reproduced in the Jammu and Kashmir Reservation Rules for the relevant category of appointments. The remaining seats/posts are distributed among reserved categories, subject to the applicable vertical and horizontal reservation provisions. The March 15, 2024 notification, S.O. 176, amended the J&K Reservation Rules, 2005 and is part of the framework cited by the government in its reply.
Under the 2024 framework, Scheduled Castes have an 8 per cent reservation, while Scheduled Tribes have a total 20 per cent reservation, comprising 10 per cent for the existing Scheduled Tribes and another 10 per cent following the addition of the Pahari Ethnic Group, Paddari Tribe, Gadda Brahmin and Koli categories under the amended framework. Other Backward Classes have 8 per cent, residents of Backward Areas 10 per cent and residents of areas adjoining the Line of Actual Control/International Border 4 per cent. Economically Weaker Sections have a 10 per cent reservation.
The rules also provide horizontal reservations for categories including Persons with Disabilities, children of defence personnel, children of paramilitary and UT police personnel and candidates possessing outstanding proficiency in sports. The exact application of these provisions differs depending on the recruitment or admission framework concerned.
The reservation structure was significantly altered in March 2024 through S.O. 176, which amended the 2005 rules. The official gazette records the notification as an amendment to the J&K Reservation Rules and lists the revised reservation tables.
The government’s latest reply comes against this background of continuing examination of the reservation structure. It does not disclose the recommendations made by the Cabinet Sub-Committee, nor does it indicate what changes, if any, the government is considering on the basis of those recommendations.
The department has instead said that the report is being examined after incorporating the views sought from the Centre and that the final decision remains pending.
The government also cited S.O. 176 dated March 15, 2024 and other applicable government orders while explaining the present Open Merit position. The official J&K government records identify S.O. 176 as the notification amending the Reservation Rules, 2005.
A further amendment to the J&K Reservation Rules was notified on May 21, 2024, according to the official Department of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs record.
The latest response therefore leaves two key questions unresolved for aspirants: what changes, if any, will follow from the Cabinet Sub-Committee’s recommendations, and when the government will take a final decision on the revised reservation framework.
The government has given no date for either decision
