Recalibration more effective than overhauling in settling issue of reservations in J-K

Posted by admin_kas on 2025-12-27 12:20:22 |

Share: WhatsApp| Facebook| Twitter| Visits: 45

Bhat Hilal Ahmad

A policy framework backed by transparent Matrix only can withstand judicial interventions while maintaining social harmony.

G D sharma report should be released for public scrutiny.True interpretation of rule of prudence be made.A revisit of Rule 17 is must for ensuring appropriate seat balance.

Rationalisation of reservations is directly proportional to meritocracy and ensuring a just society.

Jammu and Kashmir with a young demographic profile has one of the highest proportions of general category population in the country estimated arround 60 to 70 percent but lowest open merit quota which roughly stands between 30 to 40 percent.

States across the country with comparatively lesser general category population continue to maintain 50 percent reservation for open merit share.

A shift from policy decisions and demographic legal principles has resulted in a structural framework which significantly differs from the national norms.

It is when courts across India have always emphasised that reservation policies must rest on contemporary quantifiable evidence.

Though government maintains that the present reservation framework follows Reservation Act 2004 and its rules according to 2005 that should be read with new notification SO-176 of March 2024.

But lot of reservations and concerns have emerged about the proportionality , transparancy and opportunity of merit where certain newly introduced reservations are found drawing benifit patterns on the basis of regions and geography.

In its verdict on November 16 ( 1992 ) Supreme Court in Indra Sawhney verses union of India case held that reservations should not ordinary exceed beyond 50 percent except in the exceptional and extraordinary circumstances.

However in 2022 in Janhit Abhiyan case court while upholding the ten percent reservation for economically weaker sections observed that fifty percent ceiling is not a compulsory limit but a rule of prudence.

Taking a flexible and wider interpretation of this directive parliament in February 2024 ammended 2005 reservation rules and reservation percentages were altered by introducing EWS at 10 percent and increasing it to 20 percent for ST , 28 percent for OBC while RBA saw reductions.

This was largely based on publicly available socio economic survey and not on an updated sensus or data.Consequently LG administration announced new quotas like Paharis , paddari , koli , Gadda brahmin and other casts.Social welfare department quickly followed by distributing new proportions which led to decrease of open merit quota.

As per new policy 61% seats of government jobs and professional admissions are reserved and only 39 are for open merit share.

This clearly shows that open merit candidates are slowly pushed out of the system though government stands by its constitutional interpretation by saying that it goes well with constitutional guidelines and court rules.

In just last two years 8.21 lack reservation certificates were issued in J & K in which 6.78 lakh ( 82% ) were issued in jammu and only 1.45 lakh certificates were issued in kashmir.

For scheduled cast only more than 69000 certificates were issued in jammu while it remained only 474  for Kashmir which is just 0.64 percent.

Accordingly for ST 5.25 lakh certificates were issued for jammu while it remained 76656 for Kashmir.Out of 21386 , 18963 EWS certificates were issued for jammu and only 2431 certificates were issued for kashmir division.

Similarly for ALC jammu is ahead with 85% and it is for RBA only where kashmir is ahead with 31804 certificates while jammu has 15550 certificates.

While looking at the shares in the second line bureaucracy JKAS , JKAS ( accounts ) and JKPS the numbers itself tell the story of last three years.

In 2023 only 39 selections were made for open merit in JKAS as compared to 50 selections made for reserved categories like Sc , ST and Ews.

In 2024 open merit selections were 50 while 43 selections were made for reserved categories.

In 2025 , 24 selections were made for open merit while the numbers remained almost equal in all the three civil services.

In JK Accounts service 29 , 27 and 15 selections were made from open merit in 2023 , 2024 and 2025 while it remained 26 , 25 and 09 for reserved categories in 2023 , 2024 and 2025 respectively.

Though the numbers does not go against any legal quota but it questions fairness and representation.

In March 2020 J&K government constituted GD Sharma comission to examine backwardness and rationalise reservations for different categories and the report is yet to come in the public domain.

The current reservation structural framework stands at ten percent for EWS, ten percent for RBA , 8 percent for SC , 8 percent of OBC , 10 percent for ST-1 10 percent for ST-2 and 4 percent for ALC/IB which makes a mighty total of 60 percent for the reserved categories.The rest 40 percent are shared by general category and horizontal reservations.

An element of the centre of the debate is Rule -17 which allows reserved categories to initially take open merit seats and letter shift back to their respective categories.

When this happens the seat already occupied does not automatically return to the open merit pool thereby further reducing the share available to open category competition.

Not only so the horizontal reservations which cover women , ex servicemen , sports , and persons with special abilities appear to be applied largely on open merit quota rather than proportionally across all categories.

This again makes general category to bear the brunt of disproportionate share of adjustments which was otherwise expected to be distributed evenly.

In December 2024 a cabinet sub committee was constituted to consult all stakeholders for reviewing and revisiting the existing policy to reshape a much acceptable reservation policy.

The report was approved by the council of ministers in the cabinet and sent for its final approval to honourable LG.

If sources are to be believed the cabinet has reportedly slashed reservation of EWS by 7 percent and RBA by 3 percent while managing a much needed ten percent quota for general category subjected to approval from the LG administration.

If the same trend follows in filling the vacancies it will be very hard for the merit to survive and that will lead to an absolute brain drain.Moreover , the absence of an updated data and matrix question the basis of the changes and modification.

The question is not about reservation but the way of its dis-proportionate distribution.

G D sharma lead committee report should be made public for its scrutiny.It is high time to go for a data driven neutral and transparent re-examination which is based on updated statistics.

Recalibration rather than an overhaul of the structural framework will do the job.

Open merit share must reflect demographic proportion.Distribution of horizontal reservations should be made across all categories rather than concentrating them fully on general category.

The much controversial Rule 17 should be revisited and probably done away with to ensure a proper seat balance.

This will lead to a structural framework which will be purely based on fairness and transparency and grounded on the principles of proportionality and opportunity thus maintaining a fine balance between merit and constitutional limits.

That will give rise to an equitable and a rationalised reservation system which will be effective and acceptable to all sections of the society.

Bhat Hilal Ahmad ( Biotech ) is a writer who comes up with a comprehensive analysis on Educational, Social and Political developments.