Jammu: The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) will hold a crucial preliminary meeting with representatives of the Leh Apex Body (LAB) and the Kargil Democratic Alliance (KDA) in Leh town on July 2 to finalise the modalities of the broad understanding reached between Ladakh leaders and the Centre on a new administrative and political framework for the Union Territory.
Sources told The News Now that the meeting will be attended by the Additional Home Secretary and other senior MHA officials, while the LAB and KDA are expected to be represented by their top leadership.
According to sources, the discussions are likely to focus on giving shape to the broad understanding reached during the MHA sub-committee meeting held in New Delhi on May 22. During that meeting, both sides reportedly agreed in principle that legislative, executive and financial powers should be vested in elected representatives of Ladakh through a Union Territory-level elected body.
Sources said the Central team is also likely to gather ground-level feedback from stakeholders before finalising its draft document on the proposed UT-level elected body, constitutional safeguards and the creation of seven District Autonomous Councils.
“The meeting is expected to deliberate on the contours of the proposed arrangement and chart out a roadmap through which the agreed framework can be implemented,” sources said, adding “It is also expected that substantive discussions will take place on the framework agreed upon during the May 22 meeting. Both sides had reached a consensus in principle that governance-related powers should be exercised by elected representatives of Ladakh through a democratically constituted body at the Union Territory level”.
Sources further revealed that the LAB has already prepared its draft proposal on the future governance framework for Ladakh and the document is expected to be discussed with the KDA at a joint meeting before being formally submitted to the MHA.
The draft proposal has reportedly been prepared by the LAB in consultation with a team of legal experts following the assurances made by the Union Home Ministry during the May 22 meeting in New Delhi.
The breakthrough meeting, chaired by Union Minister of State for Home Affairs, Nityanand Rai, had resulted in an in-principle agreement on establishing a UT-level elected body for Ladakh with legislative, executive and financial powers, besides the formation of seven District Autonomous Councils.
The LAB and KDA had also reached a broad understanding with the Government of India on restoring democratic governance in Ladakh and providing constitutional safeguards on the lines of provisions available under Articles 371A, 371F and 371G for states such as Nagaland, Sikkim and Mizoram.
However, differences emerged subsequently after the MHA circulated draft minutes of the May 22 meeting. The LAB and KDA expressed concern that the document did not mention the proposed UT-level elected body’s authority over the bureaucracy, including the Chief Secretary, a provision they maintain had been agreed upon during the discussions.
Later, the LAB and KDA leadership was told that the MHA will soon come out with draft document on the assurances given at the MHA meeting. At the same time, the twin bodies were also asked to prepare their document on UT-level body.
During the meeting, the MHA officials explained that the only reason Ladakh cannot be granted statehood at present is its inadequate revenue generation to meet revenue expenditure, such as employee salaries. However, officials indicated that the proposed arrangement could eventually pave the way for full statehood once revenue benchmarks are achieved.
Earlier, the LAB and KDA leaders reiterated the long-standing aspirations of the people of Ladakh regarding the restoration of democracy, constitutional safeguards, and the demands for statehood and Sixth Schedule protections, reflecting the shared commitment of all stakeholders towards an inclusive and sustainable governance framework for the region.
The two bodies said that following detailed and constructive deliberations, both sides arrived at an in-principle understanding on several critical points.
