‘Centre working on Art 371 safeguards, elected body for Ladakh’

Leh, Sep 10: Ladakh could be headed for a significant change in its constitutional and political framework, with the Centre working on constitutional safeguards under Article 371 and an elected body for the Union Territory, Chief Secretary Ashish Kundra has said.
‎In an interview with a national channel, Kundra said the Union Ministry of Home Affairs had already initiated the process for extending constitutional safeguards to Ladakh and establishing an elected institution for governing the Himalayan region.
He said the proposed arrangement would be a “sui-generis” model of governance, distinct from both a Union Territory with a legislature and a State with a legislature.
“It’s a unique model we are working on. It’s a ‘sui generis’ model of governance. Ladakh will have an elected body, but it will not be UT with legislature or state with legislature,” Kundra said.
Kundra said Parliament would amend Article 371 to provide the proposed constitutional safeguards, signalling a possible alternative to Ladakhi groups’ longstanding demand for protection under the Sixth Schedule.
The Chief Secretary is part of the Centre’s team engaged in negotiations with Ladakhi representatives. Another round of talks was held in Delhi on Tuesday as discussions continue over the proposed political and constitutional arrangement for the region.
The development comes against the backdrop of a four-year-old agitation in Ladakh, with political and civil society groups demanding greater constitutional protection for land, jobs, culture and the region’s fragile ecology, besides statehood.
Ladakh became a separate Union Territory in August 2019 after the Centre reorganised the erstwhile State of Jammu and Kashmir into the Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh and ended Jammu and Kashmir’s special constitutional status under Article 370.
While the move was initially welcomed by sections of Ladakh, discontent subsequently grew over the absence of an elected legislature and concerns over land, employment, environment and local representation.
Ladakhi groups have since been demanding statehood and inclusion under the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution.
The Sixth Schedule provides for autonomous councils with powers over subjects such as land, forests, water and agriculture, besides giving local communities a greater role in regional administration and economic development.
The proposed Article 371 route could provide Ladakh with constitutional safeguards while creating an elected governance mechanism without granting it a conventional legislative assembly.
The issue assumes significance as the Centre seeks to resolve the prolonged political impasse through a framework that would retain Ladakh’s present Union Territory status while providing greater local participation and constitutional protection.
The agitation had turned violent last year when four people were killed and scores injured in clashes with security forces in Leh. Several people were subsequently arrested, including climate activist Sonam Wangchuk.
The government has said cases against most of those arrested have since been dropped.
On cases where chargesheets have already been filed, Kundra told said that Ladakh’s Lieutenant Governor would soon take a decision.
The Chief Secretary said the proposed arrangement was still being worked out, leaving the precise contours of the elected body and the extent of the proposed constitutional safeguards to the ongoing Centre-Ladakh dialogue.
If finalised and approved by Parliament, the framework would create a distinct constitutional model for Ladakh, combining special safeguards and elected representation while keeping the Union Territory outside the existing models of a UT or State with a legislature.
The outcome of the ongoing negotiations is expected to determine the powers, composition and legal framework of the proposed elected body, as well as the precise safeguards to be incorporated through the constitutional amendment. (KNS)