Cabinet approves bill to provide 10% reservation in J&K

The Cabinet on Wednesday (July 31) approved a bill to provide up to 10 per cent reservation to Jammu and Kashmir’s economically weaker sections in jobs and educational institutions.

A meeting of the Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, approved the Jammu and Kashmir Reservation (Second Amendment) Bill, 2019, an official statement said.

The approval “would pave the way of extending the benefit of reservation of up to 10 per cent for Economically Weaker Sections (EWS) in educational institutions and public employment alongside existing reservations,” it said.

The bill is expected to be tabled in Parliament as soon as the proposed legislation could not be brought before the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly which has been dissolved.

The state is currently under the President’s rule. The bill would pave the way for reserving state government jobs to the youth of Jammu and Kashmir who are from economically weaker sections belonging to any religion or caste, the official statement said.

The 10 per cent reservation to economically weaker sections was introduced in the country through the 103rd Constitution Amendment in January. This will be in addition to such reservation available in the central government jobs, it added.

Also read: 10% reservation intended to uplift economically weaker section: Centre to SC