Promotion quota ordinance in J-K govt services approved

The NC-Congress coalition government under CM Omar Abdullah ratified the decision to enhance the quota for the scheduled castes and scheduled tribes in the government services.

Following the policy of its predecessor and Congress chief minister Ghulam Nabi Azad to provide better job opportunities to those belonging to lower castes,the NC-Congress coalition government under CM Omar Abdullah on Wednesday ratified the decision to enhance the quota for scheduled castes and scheduled tribes in the government services.

At the Cabinet meeting chaired by the CM,the government approved the Ordinance,which was passed in Azad’s rule,enhancing the quota for promotion of SC-ST employees.

The decision reverses the one taken by former CM Mufti Mohammad Sayeed who had decreased the quota from 8 per cent to 4 per cent for SC employees.

Although the government has continued to provide 8 per cent reservation to SCs in promotions and even increased it from 5 to 10 per cent in the case of STs,various SC-ST outfits have been protesting for more quotas.

State president of All India Confederation of Scheduled Caste,ST,OBC Organisation,R K Kalsotra,said,”The posts in the reservation category lapse if they are not filled on time. We are seeking that the government should maintain a backlog of unfilled posts in the reserved category.”

The state Government will also introduce a bill in the coming session of the state legislature to amend the reservation act for increasing the quota and also for making it mandatory for the people employed in reserved category to serve for at least seven years at their native places.

Jammu and Kashmir Public Health Engineering (PHE) Minister,Taj Mohiuddin,said,”Once the Act is amended,officials in the reserved category will serve for at least seven years in their native places. Those in the resident of backward area (RBA) and actual line of control (ALC) category,too,will also serve for at least seven years.”

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Earlier,the reservation issue had riled the SCs and STs who took to streets for restoration of the previous quota. Though the Congress had promised to provide the ST status to the Paharis,which had embittered the Gujjars who got the ST status on the basis of ethnicity,officials said the reservation to Pahari-speaking people will come only after it was approved by the Centre.

“Gujjars oppose the ST status to Paharis on linguistic basis. But we demand that the Gujjars be provided reservation for economic uplift,” said National Secretary,Tribal Research and Cultural Foundation,Dr Javid Rahi.

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