10% Reservation Approved for Newly Added Tribes, OBC Reservation Enhanced to 8% in Jammu and Kashmir

Jammu, Mar 16 : The Jammu and Kashmir administration has sanctioned a 10 per cent reservation for four newly added tribes, increasing the overall reservation for Scheduled Tribes (STs) in the Union Territory to 20 per cent, according to an official spokesperson. Additionally, the administration has endorsed the inclusion of 15 new castes in the Other Backward Classes (OBCs) and raised the reservation quota for OBCs to eight per cent, the spokesperson announced on Friday. In February, Parliament passed two bills granting reservation to OBCs in local bodies and adding four more communities — Gadda Brahmin, Koli, Paddari Tribe, and Pahari Ethnic group — to the list of STs in Jammu and Kashmir. The administrative council, chaired by Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha, approved the proposal of the social welfare department to amend the Jammu and Kashmir reservation rules, 2005. This was in line with the Jammu and Kashmir Reservation (Amendment) Act, 2023, Constitution (Jammu & Kashmir) Scheduled Castes Order (Amendment) Act, 2024, Constitution (Jammu & Kashmir) Scheduled Tribes Order (Amendment) Act, 2024, and recommendations of Jammu and Kashmir Socially and Educationally Backward Classes (SEBC) Commission, 2020. “In light of the addition of four new tribes – Pahari Ethnic Group, Paddari Tribe, Kolis, and Gadda Brahmins – to the Scheduled Tribes Order as applicable to J&K by the Parliament, the administrative council approved 10 per cent reservation in favor of the newly added tribes, bringing the overall reservation for STs to 20 per cent,” the spokesperson stated. To ensure equal and separate benefits of reservation for both previously notified and newly added tribes, the administrative council approved a reservation percentage of 10 per cent for each. The administrative council also sanctioned the inclusion of 15 new castes in the OBCs and increased the reservation for OBCs to 8 per cent. This move aims to address the long-pending demand of the OBC category in the Union Territory, the spokesperson mentioned. Moreover, the administrative council approved changes in nomenclature and synonymy of certain castes as recommended by the SEBC Commission. Additionally, the term “physically challenged persons” or “handicapped” wherever appearing in the rules will be replaced with the term “Persons with Disabilities” in conformity with the provisions of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016, the spokesperson added. These amendments aim to fulfill the longstanding demands of these communities regarding their right to adequate representation in government jobs and professional courses, which they have been deprived of due to their social, educational, and economic backwardness.