Ladakh’s Article 371 framework: Centre seeks clarity on LAHDC, UT body powers

Ladakh’s proposed political architecture under Article 371 has moved a step closer to taking shape, with the Centre asking the Leh Apex Body (LAB) and Kargil Democratic Alliance (KDA) to thrash out 8-10 key unresolved issues before formal constitutional drafting begins.

Ladakh Chief Secretary Ashish Kundra, who participated in Wednesday’s Sub-Committee meeting in New Delhi, said the Centre and Ladakh representatives had made progress on a proposal for a UT-level elected body under a special constitutional framework, including direct elections, but the division of powers between the proposed body and the existing LAHDCs remained to be settled.

Addressing media persons on Thursday, Ladakh Chief Secretary Ashish Kundra, who was part of the Sub-Committee meeting in New Delhi on Wednesday, said the discussions had moved forward on the proposal to create a union Territory-level elected body under a special constitutional framework for Ladakh.

He said the representatives of LAB and KDA had agreed that elections to the proposed UT-level body should be held directly through constituencies rather than indirectly through the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Councils (LAHDCs).

However, several issues relating to the powers and functioning of the proposed body remain to be settled, he said.

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

He said a list of around 8-10 questions had been shared with the leaders who attended the meeting and they had been asked to deliberate on them, consult among themselves and with the people and convey their views to the Centre.

“The Ministry of Home Affairs has already started working on it. As I said, we have given them a set of questions. Through you, I would request that we receive the answers to those questions as soon as possible so that we can forward them to the Ministry of Home Affairs,” Kundra said.

He said the next meeting between the Centre and Ladakh representatives would be held in the first half of October, with the aim of moving towards a draft after consensus was reached on the basic principles.

Kundra said the Centre did not want to impose any model on Ladakh that was not acceptable to its people.

“Before preparing a document, there has to be agreement on the principles. Legal drafting of the Bill will follow once there is agreement on those principles,” he said.

The Chief Secretary said the ongoing dialogue was aimed at addressing the core aspirations of the people of Ladakh, including protection of land, culture, heritage, mineral resources, environment and employment.

He said a reservation mechanism for jobs had already been provided for Ladakh, while the Centre had conveyed that constitutional protection would be provided for the other concerns.

Kundra said the proposed governance structure would have the panchayats at the grassroots, followed by the LAHDCs and the proposed UT-level elected body above them.

He stressed that the proposal involved a constitutional amendment and not an ordinary legislation.

“This is a constitutional amendment. It requires extensive legal drafting, but before that drafting can happen, agreement on the principles is necessary,” he said.

A constitutional amendment requires a two-thirds majority in Parliament and involves a prescribed parliamentary process, he said, adding that Bills could also be referred to select Committees.

Kundra also clarified that the proposed arrangement would not amount to restoration of statehood for Ladakh.

“Ladakh was never a state. First of all, it was part of the (erstwhile) state of Jammu and Kashmir and later became a union Territory,” he said.

He said the Centre and Ladakh leadership had agreed to work towards a “sui generis” model that would provide an elected body with legislative, executive and financial powers.

“It will not be a state, and it will not be a union Territory with a legislature in the conventional sense. It will be some other kind of body which will have these powers,” he said, adding that the nomenclature of the proposed body had not yet been finalised.

Kundra said the current proposal had emerged after the original demand for inclusion of Ladakh under the Sixth Schedule was discussed with the Centre.

“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 constitutional safeguards under Article 371, once incorporated, would be difficult to alter without another constitutional amendment.

On the demand for a draft before the October meeting, Kundra appealed for patience, saying the Centre wanted to ensure that the final arrangement emerged through consultation.

“If we rush into something and later realise that it was not correct, changing it becomes difficult,” he said.

On the September 24 incident last year, Kundra said cases identified for withdrawal would be sent to the Lieutenant Governor, while a proposal on compensation would also be forwarded for his consideration.

He appealed to the political leadership to maintain a positive atmosphere, saying the dialogue was moving forward in good faith.

“October is not very far away. Ten days of September have already passed,” Kundra said, urging the leaders to provide their responses to the questions at the earliest so that the drafting process could move ahead.