Omar chairs first cabinet meeting in Jammu, discusses reservation, employment, recruitments

Jammu: Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah chaired a cabinet meeting of his government here on Friday during which various issues, including employment, reservation and recruitment processes, were discussed and directions were passed.

The cabinet, which discussed the growing demand for revising the reservation limit in government jobs in Jammu and Kashmir, decided to form a sub-committee to engage with all stakeholders on the issue.

Deputy Chief Minister Surinder Kumar Choudhary, other ministers and Chief Secretary Atal Dulloo participated in the meeting.

This was the second meeting of this government during its tenure of over one month.

Briefing the media after the meeting, Minister for Jal Shakti and Forests, Javed Ahmed Rana, said that critical issues, including employment, reservation, recruitment processes and development, were deliberated upon.

“Today we held a cabinet meeting under the leadership of the chief minister. We discussed the address by the honourable lieutenant governor in the Assembly and it has been approved. Rest assured, all the decisions taken in the meeting will be shared with you in due course,” Rana said.

He said that the lieutenant governor’s speech during the Assembly session was thoroughly discussed and approved.

Replying to a question about the demand for the Darbar Move, the minister said “every important aspect mentioned in his address has been included in it”.

Responding to another question about unemployment, which emerged as a major focus during the discussions, Rana said, “The CM has instructed all ministers to prioritize addressing unemployment within their respective departments. They should start their exercise. As part of our 100-day agenda, we are committed to presenting concrete measures within the next two months.”

He emphasised that tackling unemployment was a significant promise in the election manifesto and the government is committed to fulfilling it.

On filling vacant posts across various departments, Rana said that “deliberations were held on whether the posts should be referred to the PSC (Public Service Commission) or SSRB”.

“We will ensure that advertisements for these posts are issued within a fixed time frame,” he added.