Ladakh governance model under Article 371, Chief Secretary says

LEH — Ladakh is likely to get a sui generis governance model that will be neither a state nor a Union Territory with a legislature, but another constitutional body vested with specified powers, Chief Secretary Ashish Kundra said on Thursday.

Speaking to media persons, according to news agency KNO, Kundra said the nomenclature of the proposed body had not yet been finalised and discussions were underway.

“It is not going to be a state, for sure. It is not a UT with legislature, but it is some other body which will have these powers,” he said.

Kundra, who is also part of the sub-committee constituted on Ladakh, said the Sixth Schedule had certain limitations in the context of the Union Territory.

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“It was subsequently explained that this model has its limitations. Therefore, the Central Government is willing to go ahead and offer something more. That ‘more’ is coming through Article 371,” he said.

He said the proposed framework would be provided to Ladakh through a constitutional amendment, which would require a two-thirds majority in Parliament for approval. He also stressed the need for political consensus across parties.

Referring to Wednesday’s meeting of the sub-committee, Kundra said members of the Leh Apex Body (LAB) and Kargil Democratic Alliance (KDA) were asked questions concerning the powers of the proposed UT-level body and the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Councils (LAHDCs).

“There are certain questions regarding the relationship between the UT-level body and the LAHDC – for instance, what powers will come under the jurisdiction of the LAHDCs and what powers will come under the UT-level body,” he said.

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Kundra said discussions were held on the proposed UT-level body to be constituted under Article 371 of the Constitution.

“In the previous meeting, which was held on July 3, it was decided that a UT-level body should be constituted under Article 371, and the discussion moved forward in the same direction,” he said.

He added that there was consensus on direct elections for the proposed UT-level body.

“The issue that came up for discussion was whether there should be direct elections from constituencies or indirect elections through the LAHDC. The view of everyone from the Apex Body and the KDA was that there should be direct elections from constituencies, and there was consensus on this issue,” he said.