6-month deadline for CSC on reservation ends today

Jammu, Jun 9: Six-month deadline for the much hyped three-member Cabinet Sub-Committee, constituted by the J&K Government to rationalise reservation, to submit its report to the Council of Ministers will end tomorrow i.e., June 10, 2025. With hardly a few hours left vis-à-vis expiry of deadline, it remains a matter of intense public scrutiny whether the government will be able to meet its promise to submit its report within time or not. Interestingly, on June 4, 2025, the Minister for Health and Medical Education Sakina Itoo had reiterated that the panel was examining all related representations and was expected to submit its report “well before the scheduled deadline.”

The government, headed by the Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, on December 10, 2024 had constituted this panel for examining the grievances projected by a section of aspirants for various posts regarding Reservation Rules.

The panel was constituted in compliance with the decision of the Council of Ministers (Decision No 012/03/2024), taken on November 22, 2024. The J&K cabinet had decided to set up a cabinet sub-committee to review and rationalise reservation policy, in alignment with the promise of the (elected) government.

3-member panel, comprising Minister for Health and Medical Education (H&ME), School Education, Higher Education and Social Welfare, Sakina Masood Itoo; Minister for Jal Shakti, Forest, Ecology & Environment and Tribal Affairs, Javed Ahmed Rana and Minister for Food, Civil Supplies & Consumer Affairs Satish Sharma, had been tasked to “examine the grievances projected by a section of aspirants for various posts regarding Reservation Rules, in consultation with all stakeholders.”

Following the cabinet meeting on November 22, the Chief Minister, while speaking to the media in Srinagar, had stated, “The cabinet has decided to form a sub-committee, comprising three ministers, to take a holistic view of the reservation issue. Decision has been taken as many youth, belonging to open (General) category, are feeling that their rights have been usurped (following new reservation rules in J&K) while those brought in ambit don’t want any curtailment.” Though panel on reservation was a poll promise, Omar government was forced to rush the process as its own MP Aga Syed Ruhullah had threatened to stage dharna outside the Chief Minister’s residence if the government did not keep its word to rationalise reservation policy. While the NC had to eat a humble pie, the opposition gleefully seized the opportunity to join Ruhullah and open category candidates agitating their cause outside the CM’s residence.

Though the Chief Minister was able to pacify the candidates by meeting them at his residence and assuring them of justice yet the sequence of events leading to constitution of panel and even thereafter saw a string of controversies also, including the one related to deadline for CSC to submit report. The controversy erupted when during its maiden budget session under UT set-up, the government in a written reply in the J&K Legislative Assembly said that no specific timeline was fixed for submitting the report by the Cabinet Sub Committee.

It rested only when the Chief Minister intervened, reassuring that the panel was given a six-month deadline to submit its report. “The cabinet sub-committee constituted to examine the complicated issue of reservation in recruitment has been given a 6-month timeline to complete their report. The 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,” CM Omar had posted on ‘X’ on March 15, 2025.   Even during the assembly session, Itoo had described it as a very sensitive issue.

“This is a very sensitive issue and it is not an easy proposition to resolve it. Every aspect will have to be examined and all stakeholders will have to be consulted, taken on board. Their representation has already reached us. It is being examined. Once the committee prepares and finalises its report on this account. Members too will be informed,” she had said.