Big political thaw in Ladakh as Centre offers UT legislature
Finally, the ice has been broken in the cold desert region of Ladakh, paving the way for its political empowerment in the coming months.
Late Friday evening, representatives of the Ministry of Home Affairs, for the first time, proposed “UT with legislative powers” for Ladakh during the meeting of the Sub-Committee with the representatives of the Leh Apex Body (LAB) and Kargil Democratic Alliance (KDA) in the union capital.
According to the proposal, the Union Territory-level Legislative body will have legislative, executive, and financial powers vested with elected representatives.
All bureaucrats of the UT, including the Chief Secretary, will come under the executive head of the UT-level elected body (proposed to be the Chief Minister), which means the legislative body will have more powers than the Jammu and Kashmir government, where All India Services (AIS) fall within the domain of the Lieutenant Governor.
IN PRINCIPLE UNDERSTANDING REACHED…
We made significant progress this evening in our talks with the Govt.
MHA, Apex & KDA leaders of Ladakh had a broad consensus on restoring democracy with a tailor made legislative body that will have executive, financial & law making powers… pic.twitter.com/VSh4b1Jc8E— Sonam Wangchuk (@Wangchuk66) May 22, 2026
The meeting was attended by senior officers of MHA and UT administration of Ladakh; Thupstan Chhewang, Haji Hanifa Jan, MP, Dr Mohd Jaffer Akhoon, chairman-cum-CEC of Ladakh Hill Council, Tashi Gyalson, BJP leader and former CEC Leh Council; Chering Dorjay Lakrook, Sonam Wangchuk, and Dorjey Stanzin; all from LAB; Asgar Ali Karbalai, Sajjad Kargili, and Ghulam Rasool Nagvi from KDA.
A statement issued after the meeting by Chering Dorjay Lakrook and Asgar Ali Karbalai, co-chairpersons of LAB and KDA, respectively, said that following detailed and constructive deliberations, both sides have arrived at an in-principle understanding on several critical points.
“In this model, the legislative, executive, and financial powers will rest with elected representatives through a Union Territory-level legislative body. All bureaucrats of the UT, including the Chief Secretary, will come under the executive head of the UT-level elected body (proposed to be the Chief Minister)’’, the joint statement said.
BJP leader and former Chairman-cum-CEC of Leh Autonomous Hill Council, Tashi Gyalson, who also attended the meeting, said that in addition to the UT-level legislative body, there will also be seven district councils in Ladakh.
The number of districts in Ladakh was recently raised by the MHA from two to seven.
The LAB and KDA joint statement said the MHA authorities explained that the only reason why Ladakh cannot be made a state at the moment is that it currently lacks adequate revenue generation to meet the revenue expenditures, like salaries of employees.
However, it added, this setup will lead Ladakh towards full Statehood as and when it meets the revenue criteria.
“The LAB and KDA today reached an in-principle understanding with the Government of India on restoring democracy in Ladakh and providing Constitutional safeguards on the lines of Article 371 A, F, and G (as applied to Nagaland, Sikkim and Mizoram),’’ the joint statement said, adding the KDA and LAB look forward to closely working out the finer operational details with the MHA in consultations with legal and Constitutional experts.
Interestingly, the MHA didn’t give any timeline for implementation of the proposals, though they asked for it. However, the Ministry officials assured that it will be done as early as possible.
Thupstan Chhewang said: “The agreement to secure Ladakh’s status under Article 371 of the Constitution—incorporating provisions of the Sixth Schedule along with meaningful financial and administrative empowerment of local institutions, an elected Union Territory-level Legislature with a leader having status equivalent to a Chief Minister—represents a historic step forward for the people of this region’’.
He added that the finer details of the consensus will be worked out by the Home Ministry. All stakeholders will have the opportunity to submit their suggestions and recommendations in writing for the sake of an inclusive and participatory process.
Note:
1. Text in Blue points to additional data on the topic.
2. The views expressed here are those of the author and do not necessarily represent or reflect the views of PGurus.
For all the latest updates, download PGurus App.
