MHA seeks clarity on powers of proposed body and LAHDCs; October meeting to take process towards draft; Kundra urges leaders to project positivity
LEH: Chief Secretary Ladakh Ashish Kundra on Thursday said the September 9 meeting between Ladakh leaders and the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) marked a further step in the ongoing dialogue on constitutional safeguards, with consensus emerging on the constitution of a UT-level body under Article 371 through direct elections from constituencies.
Briefing the media on the outcome of the meeting, in which representatives of the Apex Body and Kargil Democratic Alliance (KDA) participated, Kundra said the discussion on the proposed UT-level body was taken forward in continuation of the decision reached at the July 3 meeting.
He said the participants were specifically asked to deliberate on whether the proposed body should be constituted through direct elections from constituencies or indirect elections through the LAHDCs. The representatives of the Apex Body and KDA were unanimous that the UT-level body should be directly elected through constituencies, and agreement was reached on the issue.
Kundra said the broader objective of the ongoing democratic dialogue was to secure protection for Ladakh’s land, culture, heritage, mineral resources, environment and employment.
He noted that employment protection had already been addressed through a reservation system that, according to him, is unique to Ladakh, while the Centre had indicated that constitutional protection would also be provided for the other concerns.
A major issue emerging from the September 9 meeting, Kundra said, was the precise relationship between the proposed UT-level body and the existing Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Councils (LAHDCs).
Describing the political architecture under discussion, he said the Panchayat would remain the foundational unit, above which would be the LAHDCs and, over them, the proposed UT-level body.
The MHA shared a set of questions with the Ladakh leaders concerning the relationship between the LAHDCs and the proposed UT-level body, including what powers would fall within the jurisdiction of the Hill Councils and what powers would vest with the UT-level body.
Kundra said the leaders were asked to reflect on these questions, consult among themselves and with people in Ladakh, and communicate their views before the next round of discussions. The exercise, he said, is intended to enable the two sides to move towards a draft document at the next meeting, which is expected to be held in October.
Kundra also sought to explain why the September 9 meeting did not result in an immediate draft constitutional document. He stressed that the discussions concern a constitutional amendment and not enactment of an ordinary law. A constitutional amendment requires a two-thirds majority and therefore demands political consensus among Members of Parliament belonging to different political parties, besides following the prescribed parliamentary process.
He said the constitutional amendment would constitute one part of the process, after which detailed regulations and laws would have to be framed. Kundra cautioned against the expectation that a constitutional document could be prepared immediately and passed by Parliament in the next step. Constitutional amendments follow a defined parliamentary procedure and may, in some cases, also be referred to a Select Committee, he said.
According to him, the immediate requirement was to first reach agreement on the principles and basic structure before undertaking detailed legal drafting. “The Centre does not want to impose any model which is not acceptable to the people of Ladakh,” Kundra said in substance, emphasising that the process would move forward only after consultation and deliberation.
He urged patience, arguing that rushing through the process could result in a framework that might later prove difficult to alter.
Responding to questions over reports of disappointment among the Apex Body and KDA following the meeting, Kundra strongly argued that the process had in fact moved forward. He said there was a need for people in Ladakh to also express a sense of optimism when progress was being made, and maintained that portraying every development negatively was not justified.
Kundra said the leadership had a responsibility to create an environment of positivity and hope among the people and communicate that the process was moving forward when it was actually doing so. He said the fundamental objectives of the movement—protection of land, cultural rights, employment, mineral resources and the environment—had been acknowledged for constitutional protection, and that discussions were now focused on working out the governance architecture.
He appealed to Ladakh’s leaders to work collectively to take the process forward, saying the next meeting in October was not far away. Kundra also disclosed that the Lieutenant Governor had taken up with the MHA the issue of recruitment to the State Service feeder cadre covering 15 departments and around 79 Group-B Gazetted posts.
He said the MHA had issued the enabling notification allowing recruitment under Ladakh’s reservation rules. Draft recruitment rules for the 15 departments would now be sent to the Lieutenant Governor, after which they would go to the UPSC and the recruitment process would commence.
The posts include Assistant Directors, Under Secretaries, Deputy Registrar, Assistant Director Employment, Excise and Taxation Officer, Assistant Director Consumer Affairs, Assistant Director Handicrafts and Handloom, Functional Manager Industries, Assistant Labour Commissioner, BDO, Tehsildar, District Social Welfare Officer and Director Tourism, among others. Kundra said the development would open recruitment opportunities for young people of Ladakh.
He further said the MHA had given in-principle agreement for formation of the Ladakh Administrative Service and Ladakh Police Service, with the modalities now to be worked out and the process initiated shortly.
On the Nautor land rules, Kundra said confusion had arisen over the draft rules recently issued with the approval of the Lieutenant Governor. He said the issue affects thousands of people whose land could not be monetised because it remained classified as Nautor. According to Kundra, an earlier impediment concerning vigilance clearance for such land had already been removed.
He said the proposed process would convert eligible leasehold tenancy rights into ownership rights, while making it clear that the actual regularisation of land under the rules would be undertaken by the Autonomous District Councils, as the powers over land rest with the elected Hill Councils.
Kundra also said land belonging to religious, cultural and monastic institutions would be given title free of cost under the proposed framework. For small landholders, he said the administration was considering a graded fee structure, including a proposal for no payment for holdings up to one acre, followed by graded charges for larger holdings.
He stressed that the final rules had not yet been notified and invited valid suggestions from stakeholders before finalisation. Kundra linked the Nautor proposal with the recently approved framework for change of land use, describing the two decisions together as potentially “game changing”.
He said thousands of people had been unable to obtain bank loans because their land was classified as agricultural and they could not use it for other permissible purposes. With a framework for changing land use now in place, he said owners of eligible Nautor land would be able to obtain ownership rights and, subject to the applicable framework, change the use of their land—for example, for a shop or resort.
He said the objective was to create a framework through which land, described as one of Ladakh’s most valuable resources, could be economically utilised.
Giving an update on the wider recruitment process, Kundra said that in 2026, recommendations for appointment had been made for 1,340 candidates across different categories—24 in Group-B Gazetted, 418 in Group-B Non-Gazetted and 874 in Group-C . He said 633 posts had already been advertised, with another 874 posts to be advertised, taking the total recruitment cycle to 1,504 posts. These include 331 constable posts and 40 Sub-Inspector posts in the police.
He further said 716 vacancies had been filled through promotions, addressing cases where employees had reportedly been waiting for promotion for several years.
Recruitment to 125 doctors’ posts is also being expedited. Kundra said the Lieutenant Governor had written to the UPSC Chairman and two UPSC boards would visit Ladakh to conduct interviews locally between September 21 and 25, reducing the need for candidates to travel outside the region.
Kundra concluded by stressing that the administration’s effort was to deepen democratic processes in accordance with the aspirations of the people and clear long-pending issues as quickly as possible.
He said the next round of political dialogue would be held in the first part of October, indicating that the coming weeks would be used by Ladakh’s representatives to deliberate on the proposed distribution of powers and provide their views ahead of the next MHA meeting.
