File sent to LG for approval, formal order expected soon: CM Omar on reservation policy

Srinagar : A day after the Cabinet approved the proposal to reduce quotas in the EWS and RBA categories to raise open merit quota by 10 percent, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah today said the file has been signed and sent to the Lieutenant Governor for approval and the government expects to issue a formal order soon.

Speaking with reporters in Srinagar, Omar Abdullah, per news agency said the file was signed yesterday and sent to the Lieutenant Governor for vetting.

“We hope he will approve it and the order will be issued thereafter,” he said in response to a query on the status of the reservation report.

He also said that the government has issued appointment orders under the Rehabilitation Assistance Scheme (RAS), formerly known as SRO-43, to the families of government employees who died in service.

He said around 60 cases from Kashmir province received formal orders on Wednesday, while a similar exercise was held in Jammu a day earlier. “The scheme ensures that a family member of a deceased government employee is provided a government job to help them cope with the crisis”.

The CM said there are some procedural issues in the orders which they will rectify, but the cases have been processed and the orders have now been handed over.

Responding to a query on investigations into the Nowgam blast, he said all concerned cases are under examination. “All of them are being investigated. Where relaxation is required, it will be made. Otherwise, normal orders will be issued,” he added.

On the Darbar move and winter secretariat functioning, CM Omar said ministers and officers continue to operate from Srinagar during winter. “Every week, one minister is on duty here. People should get relief and their work should be done,” he said.

On being asked about renaming of Raj Bhavan to Lok Bhavan, he said that names were secondary to delivery of governance. “Changing the name doesn’t do anything. People don’t care about what we call ourselves; they want to see work,” he said—(KNO)