Over 8 lakh reservation certificates issued in J&K in 2 years: Govt

Srinagar, Oct 28: The Jammu and Kashmir government has issued over 8.21 lakh reservation certificates in the past two years, with official data revealing a wide regional variation between the Kashmir and Jammu divisions across several categories.

The figures were shared by the Revenue Department in response to a question by People’s Democratic Party (PDP) MLA from Pulwama, Waheed-ur-Rehman Para, in the Legislative Assembly.

The data shows that the Jammu region accounted for a major share of certificates under the Scheduled Caste (SC), Scheduled Tribe (ST), and Economically Weaker Section (EWS) categories.

According to the official reply, more than 69,000 SC certificates were issued in Jammu, while only 474 were granted in Kashmir.

Similarly, 5.25 lakh ST certificates were issued in Jammu and 76,656 in Kashmir.

Under the EWS category, of 21,386 certificates issued in two years, 18,945 were given in Jammu and 2441 in Kashmir.

For the Actual Line of Control (ALC) category, 2796 certificates were issued in Jammu and 484 in Kashmir.

In the OBC category, Jammu received 43,438 certificates, while Kashmir accounted for 33,226.

The only category where Kashmir recorded a higher number was the Resident of Backward Area (RBA), with 31,804 certificates issued, compared to 15,595 in Jammu.

District-wise, Rajouri and Poonch in Jammu division had the highest number of ST certificates, while Anantnag, Kupwara, and Baramulla led in Kashmir.

The government’s reply comes amid ongoing debate over the new reservation policy introduced last year, which amended the 2005 rules and brought nearly 70 percent of government jobs and seats in professional institutions under quotas.

The Chief Minister Omar Abdullah-led government had earlier constituted a Cabinet Sub-Committee to review the reservation structure and its implementation.

The committee has submitted its report to the Cabinet, but it has not yet been made public.