Centre promised more legislative powers for Ladakh, says delegation

The Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has proposed a new mechanism to grant Ladakh greater legislative, financial, and administrative powers within the existing Union Territory framework, according to civil society members who attended a sub-committee meeting with MHA officials on Friday (May 22, 2026).

The members told The Hindu that the talks were positive and that the MHA would soon send a draft mentioning the proposed changes, which they were told would be under the framework of “U.T. with legislative powers”.

A civil society delegation comprising representatives of the Leh Apex Body (LAB) and the Kargil Democratic Alliance (KDA) from Ladakh met MHA officials and Ashish Kundra, Chief Secretary, Ladakh, on Friday (May 22, 2026). The delegation included climate activist Sonam Wangchuk, who was released from detention under the National Security Act (NSA) on March 14.

Cherring Dorjay Lakruk, co-convenor of LAB, told The Hindu that the MHA was proposing a legislature, it did not want to give it the name of “Statehood” as the move would put the burden of revenue generation on Ladakh and the Centre would not be able to allocate funds.

“We were told that when Ladakh is financially sound, then Statehood can be considered. Functions of the Chief Secretary and other administrative functions will be decided by the elected body. It is not clear how the elected members will be referred to... as Members of Legislative Assembly (MLA) or something else. We are waiting for the MHA’s proposal. We also have to send a proposal from our side,” Mr. Lakruk said.

The LAB and the KDA, representing Leh and Kargil districts respectively, said in a statement that they reached an in-principle understanding with the Union government on providing constitutional safeguards on the lines of Article 371 A, F, and G of the Constitution (as applied to Nagaland, Sikkim and Mizoram). Article 371 deals with “Temporary, Transitional and Special Provisions”, and exists in 12 States.

When asked what had changed now, as the Union government had earlier too proposed such safeguards, Mr. Lakruk said, “Earlier, they did not propose legislative powers or elected representatives for Ladakh.”

Long-standing aspirations

The statement said, “During the meeting, both the LAB and the KDA reiterated the long-standing aspirations of the people of Ladakh regarding the restoration of democracy, constitutional safeguards, and the demand for Statehood and Sixth Schedule protections reflecting the shared commitment of all stakeholders towards an inclusive and sustainable governance framework for the region.”

It added that in the proposed model “the legislative, executive and financial powers will rest with elected representatives through a Union Territory level legislative body”.

“All bureaucrats of the U.T., including the Chief Secretary, will come under the executive head of the U.T.-level elected body (proposed to be Chief Minister),” the statement said.

Representatives from the delegation said that the MHA authorities had said the only reason why Ladakh could not be made a State at the moment was that it currently lacked adequate revenue generation to meet the expenditure such as salaries of employees.

Finer details

The KDA and the LAB would work out the finer operational details with the MHA in consultation with legal and constitutional experts, said Sajjad Kargili, co-chairman of the KDA.

Thupstan Chhewang, former chairman of LAB and a former BJP MP, also attended the meeting. He said that the nomenclature of the new constitutional dispensation will be finalised through due deliberation. He demanded the withdrawal of cases against people who were arrested for the September 24, 2025 violence in Leh city and sought additional financial compensation for the families of the four deceased persons and those who were injured.

A senior government official said that the Centre is committed to democratic representation and several models, including safeguards available under Article 371 of the Constitution, were discussed.

Since 2020, the KDA and the LAB have been demanding constitutional safeguards such as Statehood and the inclusion of Ladakh under the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution, thus giving it tribal status. Ladakh, earlier part of Jammu and Kashmir, became a Union Territory in 2019, following the removal of special status given to J&K under Article 370 of the Constitution.

After the September 24, 2025, violence in Leh city, when four people, including a Kargil war veteran, were killed in police firing, the talks with the Union government hit a stalemate. The last high-powered committee meeting chaired by Minister of State for Home Nityanand Rai remained inconclusive.

Friday’s (May 22, 2026) talks follow the release of Mr. Wangchuk from detention under NSA on March 14 and an announcement by Ladakh L-G Vinai Saxena on April 26, when he approved the notification of five new districts — Nubra, Sham, Changthang, Zanskar and Drass. The creation of the new districts were announced by Home Minister Amit Shah in August 2024.