Srinagar, Dec 4: 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 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.
‘Governance important than name change’
Srinagar, Dec 4: Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Thursday said people were more concerned about the delivery of governance than changing the nomenclature of institutions in the country.
“Name change is fine, but there should be a change in the functioning as well. People are not bothered about the names, they look at our work,” Abdullah told reporters on the sidelines of a function here.
Abdullah was reacting to the government renaming Raj Bhawan across the country as Lok Bhawan.
“The name change would suggest that there will more work done for the people now. How does it matter to people whether I call myself chief minister, mukhyamantri or wazeer-e-aa’la?” he added.
On the review of the reservation quota in the Union territory, Abdullah said the file has been sent to the Lieutenant Governor for approval on Wednesday.
On the electricity supply in peak winter in the valley, the chief minister said the government will make all efforts to ensure that the schedule of electricity supply is followed strictly.
Asked about steps taken by the government to provide relief to the next of kin of Nowgam blast victims, Abdullah said their cases for appointment in government service on compassionate grounds are in process.
