Srinagar- The Jammu and Kashmir Cabinet sub-committee formed last year to look into grievances against the current reservation policy in the Union Territory will submit its report in six months, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah said on Saturday.
The decision came after he met a “concerned group of job aspirants”.
Abdullah said in a post on X, “The Cabinet sub-committee constituted to examine the complicated issue of reservations in recruitment has been given a six-month timeline to complete their report. This timeline was set by me after I met with a concerned group of job aspirants.”
“This timeline, however, was not in the initial order setting up the sub-committee. That oversight will be corrected but, rest-assured, the committee is working to complete its task in the set timeframe,” he added.
Earlier in the day, the Jammu and Kashmir government informed the legislative assembly that no specific timeline has been fixed for the three-member cabinet sub-committee, which was formed last year to look into grievances against the present reservation policy in the Union Territory.
The information was given by Sakeena Itoo, the minister in-charge social welfare, in a written reply to a starred question by Peoples Conference legislator Sajad Gani Lone in the House.
The cabinet sub-committee headed by Itoo with ministers Satish Sharma and Javed Rana as its members was constituted in December last year and is going to submit its report to the council of ministers headed by Chief Minister Omar Abdullah.
Member Parliament Syed Agha Ruhullah Mehdi expressed shock at the government’s reply in the assembly. “I hope this line saying ‘no specific timeline has been fixed for submitting the report’ in the reply is some clerical error or some miscommunication between the department and the Chief Minister’s office@ CM J&K should clarify this” Ruhullah wrote on X.
“If it is not, then it is a blatant lie and betrayal with the students who raised the issue with their elected government and showed faith and trust in the word and response given to them,” he wrote further.
“There can’t be a political catastrophe bigger than this when an elected government deceives its people. I didn’t speak on this matter after the students got the assurance from the CM last time because I was expecting the government to do its job in the given time as they had assured. But this response has shocked me. I will not sit quiet on this. I will pick the matter from where I left it after the assurance given to the students,” Ruhullah wrote.
“I hope the government gives some clarity on this matter and assures us that this reply is a result of some mistake not a deliberate blatant lie,” he added
Reservation has become a major issue in Jammu and Kashmir following the Central government’s decision to add more communities to the reserved category and expand quotas in the UT over the past five years. There are increasing objections to the Centre’s move to push the reservation quota to 70 per cent in Jammu and Kashmir.
“The Cabinet Sub Committee stands constituted vide Government order No. 2061- JKGAD of 2024, dated 10.12. 2024 to examine the grievances projected by a section of aspirants for various posts regarding reservation rules. However, no specific timeline has been fixed for submitting the report,” the minister said in response to Lone, who had asked whether a six months time period had been granted to the panel to review the existing reservation policy.
Itoo said that a total of 5,39,306 Scheduled Tribe population – 4,59,493 in Jammu division and 79,813 in Kashmir division — have obtained ST certificates in the last two years effective from April 2023, while 67,112 certificates have been issued to scheduled caste population of Jammu region during the same period.
The minister said 1,379 villages in Jammu and 1,229 villages in Kashmir have benefited under Reserved Backward Area (RBA), while 551 villages of Jammu zone have benefited under International Border category. Similarly, 268 villages in Jammu and 16 in Kashmir have benefited under Actual line of Control (ALC) category.
The government has also issued 27,420 certificates to the Economically Weaker Section (EWS) in Jammu division and 2,273 certificates to EWS in Kashmir valley in the past two years, effective from April 1, 2023.
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