Union ministers Arun Jaitley and Ravi Shankar Prasad brief the media in New Delhi. (Express photo by Tashi Tobgyal/File)Over 36 lakh residents from Jammu and Kashmir will benefit from the slew of measures on reservation and promotions cleared by the Union Cabinet on Thursday, government official said on Friday.
Amid apprehension in the state that the government may tweak Article 35A, Home Ministry officials maintained that the decision will not impact Article 370 or Article 35A. They said the move will pave the way for reservation for economically weaker sections (EWS) and promotion in service to people from Schedule Caste (SC) and Schedule Tribe (ST) communities.
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The major beneficiaries will be people from SC/ST background, officials said; those from EWS category constitute 12.5 lakh of J&K’s population as per the 2011 census, they added.
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On Thursday, the Union Cabinet rolled out 10 per cent reservation for people in EWS category in educational institutions and government jobs in J&K and approved benefit of promotion in service to SCs and STs. Also Read: Cabinet nod to J&K ordinance on quota
The Centre also announced that an ordinance will be promulgated to bring people in areas adjoining the International Border (IB) within the ambit of reservation on par with those living in areas adjoining the Line of Actual Control (LAC), in a move that is seen as a bid to reach out to people in Jammu region.
