A high-stakes cabinet meeting is expected to finalize a new reservation policy for government jobs and educational institutions. Chief Minister Omar Abdullah is facing a significant political challenge amid public protests over the region’s current reservation policy, with general-category job aspirants feeling “trapped” or sidelined by the high percentage of reserved seats.
The controversy stems from the reservation system largely implemented under the previous central administration, which expanded the total quota to nearly 60–70% in government jobs and educational institutions, leaving a relatively small share for the open-merit (general) category.
The existing policy includes reservations for Scheduled Tribes (ST-I and ST-II, totaling 20%), Scheduled Castes (SC), Other Backward Classes (OBC), Residents of Backward Areas (RBA), Economically Weaker Sections (EWS), and other horizontal categories such as children of defence personnel.
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General-category aspirants argue that their share of seats—sometimes as low as 40%—is disproportionate to their population, estimated at around 69%, leading to frustration and a sense of injustice.
This has sparked protests outside the Chief Minister’s residence as well as rifts within the ruling National Conference (NC), with party MP Aga Ruhullah Mehdi joining demonstrators and demanding a policy review.
The Omar Abdullah-led government had included a promise in its election manifesto to review the policy and correct imbalances. To address the growing crisis, a cabinet sub-committee was formed to examine the issue and propose changes.
The committee has reportedly submitted its report, recommending a reallocation of seats from the RBA and EWS categories to increase the share of open-merit/general-category seats, with the aim of keeping the overall reservation under the Supreme Court’s 50% cap.
A crucial high-level cabinet meeting has been scheduled for December 3, during which major changes to the reservation policy are expected to be finalized before being sent to the Lieutenant Governor for approval.
Sources in the administration say the meeting’s main agenda is the finalization of the recommendations submitted by the Cabinet Sub-Committee on the rationalization of the reservation system. The government is likely to approve a proposal to increase the open-merit quota in government jobs and educational institutions from the current 30% to around 40%, they said.
To accommodate the increase in the open-merit quota, the government plans to reduce around 10% from existing categories—excluding those mandated by Parliament such as Scheduled Castes (SC), Scheduled Tribes (ST), and Other Backward Classes (OBC). However, officials said the reduction is expected primarily from the Residents of Backward Areas (RBA) and Economically Weaker Sections (EWS) quotas, as most of the original RBA population now falls within the Union Territory of Ladakh.
The government is also exploring legal options, as the current policy is under challenge in the Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh High Court, which could provide a path to implement changes based on judicial direction.
Any decisions taken by the cabinet in tomorrow’s meeting will require final approval from the Lieutenant Governor (LG) before being implemented.
