Kashmir Impulse Desk

Srinagar, June 23

The cabinet on Tuesday approved a draft response to questions raised by India’s Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) over proposed changes to the J&K’s reservation policy, moving a step closer to securing federal clearance for the recommendations.

The response, prepared by the Social Welfare Department in consultation with the Law Department, was cleared at a meeting chaired by Chief Minister Omar Abdullah and will now be routed through Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha before being sent to the federal government, official sources said.

“The cabinet has approved the reply for submission to the Lieutenant Governor, who will examine it before forwarding it to the Ministry of Home Affairs,” a source familiar with the deliberations said.

The MHA had sought clarifications on recommendations made by a cabinet sub-committee that reportedly proposed reducing reservation quotas for Residents of Backward Areas (RBA) and the Economically Weaker Sections (EWS).

According to sources, the ministry sought details on the rationale behind reducing the RBA quota from 10 percent to 7 percent and the EWS quota from 10 percent to 3%.

The government, in its response, argued that the reorganisation of the former state in 2019 and the subsequent separation of Ladakh had reduced the geographical scope of areas qualifying under the RBA category. It also maintained that several regions currently covered under the RBA category were already benefiting from other reservation provisions, necessitating a review of the quota.

On the proposed reduction in EWS reservation, the government cited demographic considerations, saying the proportion of the eligible population in Jammu and Kashmir was comparatively smaller than in several other states and Union Territories, sources said.

The recommendations were prepared by a three-member cabinet sub-committee headed by Minister Sakeena Itoo and approved by the cabinet in December last year.

The issue has attracted significant public attention, particularly from groups representing various reserved categories, with stakeholders closely watching the federal government’s response before any policy changes can take effect.

Earlier on Tuesday, an official spokesperson said the Council of Ministers discussed a range of governance and development-related matters during its meeting at the Civil Secretariat.