A customized model suitable for Ladakh will be adopted under Article 371, says the Home Ministry draft

People gather during a statehood protest in Leh, Ladakh. File. | Photo credit: PTI

A modified sui generis model best suited for Ladakh will be adopted under the provisions of Article 371 for the Union Territory of Ladakh, said a proposal shared by a Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) team with leaders of civil society groups in the region on Friday (July 3, 2026).

Referring to the fifth meeting of the High-Powered Committee (HPC) sub-committee for Ladakh held on May 22 this year, the MHA team released the minutes of the meeting, which was agreed upon by the Center and leaders of civil society groups Leh Apex Body (LAB) and Kargil Democratic Alliance (KDA).

The MHA report said the next logical step would be to further strengthen the Union Territory through a democratic institutional framework that provides a political voice. It was unanimously decided that while statehood remains a long-term aspiration of Ladakh, in the current situation, a suitable adapted model of governance will be created as a first step by establishing an elected body at the Union Territory level with executive financial and legislative powers, the proposal said.

The minutes of the meeting also talked about the model of constitutional guarantees with Article 371. “Cases of the use of Article 371 (A to J) have come up and it has been agreed that a customized model which is most suitable for Ladakh will be adopted,” it said.

According to the details of the meeting, it was decided that a draft proposal covering the powers and functions, executive financial and legislative, of this elected body at the Union Territory level in harmonious relations with the Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) would be prepared for further discussion and fine-tuning.

Follow-up meeting

Ladakh Chief Secretary Ashish Kundra, MHA Additional Secretary Prashant S. Lokhande, Ladakh Member of Parliament Haji Haneefa, BJP leader Thupstan Chhewang, LAB President Chering Dorjay Lakrook, Kargil High Councilor Jaffar Akhoon and KDA Co-Chairman Asgar were present in the meeting of Ali, the most prominent leader of the region is one of the most prominent representatives of Karbalai region.

This is the first time that the MHA has released a detailed presentation on the progress made through five rounds of meetings between the Center and Ladakh representatives.

“The presentation also outlined the likely structure of self-governance in Ladakh. The Ladakh representatives reiterated the demand for statehood and sixth schedule for Ladakh. They also reiterated the demand regarding the Ladakh administrative and police services and the withdrawal of the September 24, 2025 incident cases,” read the minutes of the meeting.

She said the leaders from Ladakh suggested that the bureaucracy should be accountable to the elected government. “It was agreed that from the point of view of functions and civil servants for subjects under the jurisdiction of the elected body at the union level, control and supervision, including evaluation, will be carried out by the elected executive body,” it added.

Government support

The MHA proposal suggested that further details “will be worked out in future meetings under the Transaction of Business rules”. Participants also noted the considerable support the government has provided to Ladakh in recent years through dialogue initiatives, protective legislation in terms of residency and reservation criteria, employment measures, development interventions, infrastructure expansion, cultural recognition and administrative reforms.

Ladakh was carved out as a Union Territory in 2019 from the Kashmir division of Jammu and Kashmir. Since then, demands for statehood and the Sixth Plan have grown as leaders have expressed concerns about the region’s jobs, land, language, environment and customs. Four civilians were killed and around 90 injured in rare violence in September last year over demands for statehood in the Sixth Plan.

Published – 03 Jul 2026 22:56 IST