J&K reservation policy under scrutiny as open merit quota shrinks to 40 per cent
SRINAGAR: Jammu and Kashmirs Reservationpolicy has again come under intense scrutiny after only 40 per cent jobs out of the 1815 police constable posts and 480 Medical Officers were allocated for Open Merit aspirants in the Union Territory. Meanwhile, disgruntled NC MP Aga Ruhullah has warned Omar Abdullah to talk to students until Saturday and inform them of decisions on reservation, and stated that he would join the students' protest outside the CM's residence on Sunday. J&K police has advertised 1815 constable posts, including 934 posts in the Jammu region and 881 posts in the Kashmir region. Of the total 1815 posts, only 728 (40% posts) have been allocated for OM aspirants. The remaining 60 per cent posts have been reserved for various categories, including 145 posts for SC, 181 each for ST1, ST2 and RBC, 147 for OBC, 72 for ALC, IB and 180 for EWS. Earlier, the Health and Medical Education Department referred 480 Medical Officer posts to the Jammu and Kashmir Public Service Commission for direct recruitment. Out of these, only 192 posts were reserved for OM aspirants. The remaining posts were allocated to reserved categories, including 38 for SC, 48 each for ST-1, ST-2, and RBA, 39 for OBC, 48 for EWS, and 19 for ALC/IB. The allocation of only 40 per cent posts for PM has once again brought the reservation policy, revised by the Lt Governors administration ahead of last years Assembly elections, into sharp focus. At present, SCs have 8% quota, ST 20%, EWS 10%, Residents of Backward Areas (RBA) 10%, Other Backward Classes (OBC) 8%, ALC/IB 4%. Besides, there is a 10 per cent horizontalreservation,including six per cent to ex-Servicemen and four per cent to Persons with Disabilities (PwDs). The J&K Open Merit Students Association (J&K OMSA) saidthat after horizontal reservations and reserved-category candidates occupying Open Merit seats, general category aspirants could be left competing for a few seats, 200 to 300 posts, as seen in previous police recruitments. This effectively forces nearly 70 per cent of J&Ks population to fight for a fraction of posts. The OMSA demanded an immediate halt to all ongoing recruitments until a transparent, finalised, and equitable reservation policy is implemented.The OMSA has rejected any token reduction in one or two categories. We will not tolerate deception packaged as reform. Anything less than full, category-wide rationalisation is a direct insult to lakhs of aspirants. Cosmetic cuts are unacceptable, unforgivable, and will be resisted at every level. Sahil Parray, a representative of a group advocating for Open Merit aspirants, said day by day, jobs are slipping away, and open merit is being reduced to zero. Our frustration is not entitlement; it is exhaustion. Our anger is not rebellion; it is survival, he said. The J&K cabinet has approved the Cabinet Sub Committee (CSC) report onreservation and forwarded the file for approval to Lt Governor Manoj Sinha. LG's approval is still awaited. Sources said the CSC report has proposed a 10 per cent increase in the OM quota by reducing the EWS quota by 7 per cent and the RBA by 3 per cent. Meanwhile, disgruntled National Conference MP Aga Ruhullah urged the government to talk to students and apprise them of measures and decisions to resolve the reservation issue. If that does not happen till Saturday, I will not leave our youngsters and students helpless. I will walk with them and sit with them on this coming Sunday at the same place as we did last year on 23rd December to make them hear, he said. Last December,Ruhullahhad joined hundreds of students for a protest outside CMs Gupkar residence in Srinagar, demanding the framing of a balanced reservation policy. Following that protest, the Omar government constituted a cabinet sub-committee on December 10 to examine grievances raised by aspirants regarding the reservation policy in J&K. Jammu exceeds Kashmir in category certificate issuance in 2025
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