Ladakh talks: Centre offers elected body powers, LAB-KDA seek more

Srinagar: The Centre on Wednesday offered Ladakh a new elected body with powers over land, culture, forests, environment and natural resources, but left police and public order outside its proposed jurisdiction, setting up a fresh point of contention with the region’s political groups.

Representatives of the Union Home Ministry conveyed the proposal to the Leh Apex Body (LAB) and Kargil Democratic Alliance (KDA) during talks in New Delhi, according to a joint statement issued by the two groups.

The proposed Union Territory-level body would also have budgetary, planning and financial powers, LAB and KDA said.

Ladakh talks stall as LAB, KDA seek interim safeguards, warn of renewed agitation

However, the groups said the Centre’s proposal stopped short of giving it authority over all subjects in the State and Concurrent Lists of the Seventh Schedule, including law and order.

The two sides are scheduled to meet again in the first week of October, when a draft constitutional provision for the proposed body is expected to be discussed. The MHA is also expected to seek further comments from LAB and KDA on broader issues, the statement said.

Ladakh has been a Union Territory without a legislature since the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act came into force in October 2019.

It is currently administered through the Lieutenant Governor, while elected Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Councils (LAHDCs) have traditionally functioned in Leh and Kargil.

The proposed UT-level body would create an additional elected layer of governance above the district councils. Its precise constitutional status and division of powers with the Lieutenant Governor and the hill councils are yet to be finalised.

The discussions come amid a series of administrative changes in Ladakh. The UT was expanded from two to seven districts this year with the creation of Sham, Nubra, Changthang, Zanskar and Drass.

LAB and KDA, however, have objected to what they describe as major and potentially irreversible changes being made before the proposed UT-level elected body is constituted.

They said the creation of new districts, expansion of hill councils and other administrative decisions should not pre-empt the authority of an elected institution that Ladakh is seeking.

In their view, the sequence matters: the elected body should first be constituted and then allowed to determine the future structure of local governance.

The groups warned that if such changes are made before the proposed body gets an opportunity to legislate on the governance structure, they would call upon people in Ladakh to protest.

LAB and KDA have been seeking a substantially empowered elected government, along with constitutional safeguards for Ladakh’s land, culture, employment and environment.

The October meeting is expected to provide the first clearer indication of whether the Centre’s proposed framework can bridge the gap between those demands and the governance model it is offering.