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Reservation row in J&K as Open Merit gets 40% quota of finance dept posts

SRINAGAR: The row over reservation policies in Jammu and Kashmir has flared up again after the Finance Department advertised 600 posts of Accounts Assistants, with only 240 of those allocated to the Open Merit (OM) category. This has upset the youth falling under OM category, leading them to renew their demand for a review of the existing reservation policy in the Union Territory. Of the 600 posts of Accounts Assistants advertised by J&K Services Selection Board, only 40% posts (24O) were kept for OM aspirants while 360 posts have been reserved for various categories48 for Scheduled Castes (SC), 60 each for Scheduled Tribes (ST1 and ST2), 48 for Other Backward Classes (OBC), 24 for ALC/IB, 60 for the Residents of Backward Areas (RBA), and another 60 for Economically Weaker Sections. The general category students argue that they are being sidelined in government recruitment. Sahil Parray, a representative of a group advocating for OM aspirants, said even within 240 OM seats, candidates from reserved categories are also eligible to compete, reducing the actual share of opportunities for general category youth. Merit-based youth are slipping into depression while watching their careers being handed over on a platter to them. Every exam, every notification & every list is pushing General Category students are out of the system. This isnt welfare, this is systematic exclusion. This is injustice. And this is how you destroy a generation, Parray said in a post on X. Another youth Zubair Ahmad called the policy a systematic destruction of merit. Notably, reservation has become a flash point in J&K since the Centre Added more communities to reserved category over the past five years. 360 of 600 posts reserved Of the 600 posts of Accounts Assistants advertised by J&K Services Selection Board, only 40% posts (24O) were kept for OM aspirants while 360 posts have been reserved for various categories48 for SC, 60 each for ST1 and ST2, 60 for EWS and so on.

27 Nov 2025 7:51 am