CM Omar chairs J&K Cabinet meet, approves several departmental proposals

J-K govt passing buck, says opposition on reservation rationalization issue

Jammu: Jammu and Kashmir Cabinet, chaired by Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, convened here on Wednesday morning and approved several key departmental proposals, including promotions in the Roads and Buildings (R&B) Department and the creation of the Animal Protection Board, officials said.The meeting began at 9 am at the Chief Minister’s Jammu residence and focused on a range of governance and development issues, senior officials noted. Matters related to electricity supply, reservation policies and preparations for the winter season were also taken up during the deliberations.

One of the major approvals granted by the Cabinet was a proposal concerning promotions and service-related matters of officer cadres in the R&B Department. After detailed discussions, the government cleared the seniority confirmation and related service issues. The Cabinet also sanctioned financial support aimed at strengthening cooperative societies in the livestock and fisheries sectors.Briefing reporters after the meeting, Cabinet Minister Javed Rana said the session cleared several important agenda items, with an emphasis on resolving long-pending administrative matters.“There were some minor issues discussed, but the primary agenda centred on the promotion and service proposals of R&B officers. Their seniority confirmation has now been approved,” Rana said, adding that the decisions would help streamline departmental functioning in the coming months.

CM Omar Abdullah on Wednesday said his government has rationalised the reservation policy in the “best possible manner” to ensure justice to all sections and fulfil a key poll promise.However, he refused to divulge details, saying the proposal has been forwarded to Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha for his approval, and it would be inappropriate to comment further until the file receives his consent.He was talking to reporters after chairing the first Cabinet meeting in Jammu since the resumption of ‘Darbar Move’, an exercise under which the government functions for six months each in Srinagar during summers and in Jammu during winters.

Reservations 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 union territory (UT) over the past five years.There have been growing objections to the Centre’s move to push the reservation quota to 70 per cent in the UT, following last year’s announcements introducing a separate 10 per cent reservation for Paharis and other tribes and enhancing the OBC quota to eight per cent.The chief minister said the reservation policy was one of the 22 items on the agenda for the Cabinet meeting.

“We discussed many things like construction of the new ‘Kashmir House’ in Dwarka (Delhi), proposal of chief engineers in the roads and buildings department, and how to revive co-operative societies in a new way, besides the reservations,” Abdullah said.On December 10 last year, the government constituted a Cabinet sub-committee to look into grievances raised by various sections of aspirants against the existing reservation policy in the UT. The sub-committee forwarded its report in October, and accordingly, the report and its review by the law department were completed.

“It would be wrong to comment on the minutes of the Cabinet meeting before sending them to the honourable LG. I will just say that we have tried to rationalise it as we have promised. We have also tried not to be unjust to anyone,” the chief minister said.Abdullah also noted that so much time was taken because “the issue is such that it is very easy to do politics with it”.”The Cabinet has tried to adopt a transparent and fair process. Now, the matter will go to the LG. I will not say anything more until the file reaches him. Whatever you want to believe, you can believe it. We could not have done a more detailed exercise than this.

“Every issue was seen and discussed more than once. This is the third or fourth time that the matter came to the Cabinet after the sub-committee headed by Minister Sakina Itoo submitted its report. We did our best to resolve this matter,” Abdullah said.On the stance of the estranged National Conference Lok Sabha MP, Aga Syed Ruhullah Mehdi, on the reservation issue, the chief minister said the government did not do this for anyone’s satisfaction.”This is not about an individual. This is about the people of Jammu and Kashmir, and we have fulfilled another election promise by completing this process,” he said.

Abdullah added that the people who were “taunting” the government, claiming it did not do anything about the reservation, are threatening protests if injustice is done to any section.Mehdi recently asked the National Conference-led government in the UT to resolve the reservation issue before the Winter session of Parliament ends, saying he would join the quota protests if no action was taken.

The opposition parties in Jammu and Kashmir on Wednesday accused the government of “engaging in theatrics” and “passing the buck” on the issue of rationalisation of reservation.The criticism came in the wake of Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah’s statement earlier on Wednesday that his government has rationalised the reservation policy in the “best possible manner” to ensure justice to all sections and fulfil a key poll promise.The People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and People’s Conference hit out at the government over the issue.

“No rationalisation of reservation or age relaxation despite being promised as NC’s manifesto guarantees and verbal assurances. Instead, the NC government is engaging in theatrics by playing pass the parcel and blaming both to absolve itself of any responsibility. No wonder youth across J&K are in utter distress and despair. Shameful,” PDP leader Iltija Mufti said on X.People’s Conference chief Sajad Lone said the elected government “is passing on the buck”, and “trying to create a wedge in the Kashmiri ranks, and pit one Kashmiri against the other”.

“The elected government can easily restore district and divisional recruitment through an act in the assembly. Please, can someone enlighten me? What are the disadvantages of district and divisional recruitment? Why are we not restoring them?” he said in a post on X.The Handwara MLA said in a developing economy, as is ours, public sector jobs get spread across all regions and bring in regional inclusivity in jobs.”Reservations get restricted to only those reserved categories that are domiciled in the district or division. That will bring open merit in the Kashmir division to 70 to 80 per cent.

“Instead, if what has been stated so far and what has not been contradicted by the elected government so far, is true, the only reserved category where Kashmiris benefited, the RBA (Resident of Backward Area), will be slashed,” he said.The People’s Conference chief said he fails to understand how that helps Kashmir.”If we define the basic reservation problem, it would mean the systematic exclusion of Kashmiris in the recruitment process. You are yet again doing the same. But only changing the excluded Kashmiri. So if a Kashmiri named A was earlier excluded, you have substituted it with a Kashmiri called B,” he said.

The problem, Lone said, lies between Jammu and Kashmir with the “dice loaded heavily in favour of Jammu”.”And between Jammu and Kashmir, the ratio will remain unchanged. 80 per cent reservations will still go to Jammu. Please take a pen and paper and do some calculations. The data is available in the answer that was provided by the government in response to my question on reservations,” he added.Reservations 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 union territory (UT) over the past five years.

There have been growing objections to the Centre’s move to push the reservation quota to 70 per cent in the UT, following last year’s announcements introducing a separate 10 per cent reservation for Paharis and other tribes and enhancing the OBC quota to eight per cent.On December 10 last year, the government constituted a Cabinet sub-committee to look into grievances raised by various sections of aspirants against the existing reservation policy in the UT. The sub-committee forwarded its report in October, and accordingly, the report and its review by the law department were completed.