The Jammu and Kashmir government has approved a 10 per cent reservation for the “affluent” Paharis and other castes under the Scheduled Tribe category and raised the reservation of OBCs to 8 per cent in government jobs and educational institutions.

The announcement was made on Friday night, less than 24 hours before the announcement of general elections.

A government spokesman said a 10 per cent reservation for Paharis and three other castes — Paddari tribe, Kolis and Gadda Brahmins — has been approved, which takes the reservation for STs in Jammu and Kashmir to 20 per cent.

The OBC’s share has been increased from four to eight per cent. The government has added 15 new castes to the list of OBCs as recommended by the Socially and Educationally Backward Classes (SEBC) Commission.

On the other hand, the Election Commission’s decision not to hold the Assembly election in Jammu and Kashmir along with the Lok Sabha election sparked anger across the Union Territory.

“So much for ‘One Nation One Election’. The EC is unable to conduct assembly polls in J&K with the general election even when they acknowledge that elections are due #GeneralElection2024,” former chief minister Omar Abdullah posted on X.

Former chief minister Farooq Abdullah said: “I feel sad, really sad. On one side the government says we want ‘One Nation, One Election’, here was an opportunity... four states are going for both parliamentary election and state elections... why you are denying Jammu and Kashmir people the right to choose their own government?”

Before the 2019 scrapping of special status to Jammu and Kashmir, there was no reservation for the OBCs in the Union Territory and a four per cent quota was enjoyed by the Other Social Castes (OSC) category. The people living in backward areas under the Resident of Backward Areas (RBA) category used to enjoy 20 per cent reservation. The government has already slashed their quota to 10 per cent.

The separate reservation for Paharis and a few other castes had triggered resentment among Gujjars and Bakerwals. The government has upheld its commitment to them that their 10 per cent share will not be diluted.

Many among the Paharis are high-caste Peers (among Muslims), Brahmins and Rajputs (among Hindus) and for the first time in India reservations under the ST category have been granted to a group on a linguistic basis.