Civil society groups in Ladakh to hold informal talks with visiting MHA team, say ‘spadework for formal talks’

Leh Apex Body (LAB) Co-Chairperson Chering Dorjay. File. | Photo credit: PTI

Members of civil society groups, Leh Apex Body (LAB) and Kargil Democratic Alliance (KDA), advocating for statehood and Sixth Plan status for the region, on Wednesday (July 1, 2026) said they will hold informal talks with a Home Ministry team in Leh this week.

“I don’t expect these informal talks to produce concrete results. However, this meeting with MHA is a sawmill for a formal meeting that we expect to follow soon. This will allow both sides to understand where we stand,” said LAB Chairman Dorjay T Lakrook.

Mr. Lakrook’s statement came at a time when the MHA team had arrived in Leh. He said the meeting would give the Ladakh leadership “a sense of what the Center stands for”. “It will also give us a platform to share our perspective on the requirements. Fingers crossed,” Mr Lakrook said.

The Leh-based LAB is also consulting with the KDA, a Kargil-based civil society group, during the meeting. “We will have a common strategy for the meeting. I hope that these upcoming informal talks will soon become formal talks,” Mr Lakrook said.

On the Centre’s reported offer to extend the provisions of Article 371 to Ladakh, Mr Lakrook said the provisions could turn out to be better than the Sixth Schedule requirement. “The provisions of the Sixth Schedule empower only the district level councils, but Article 371 empowers the entire state and its legislature,” Mr Lakrook said.

The upcoming informal talks come at a time when Ladakh groups have accused the Center of backtracking on the agreement reached on May 22 in New Delhi at a meeting with the MHA sub-committee. There was also disappointment among civil society groups that the MHA did not share the agreed minutes of the May 22 meeting with these groups. They said the minutes of the meeting previously shared with the group “did not reflect the points agreed”.

According to LAB and KDA, the Center agreed to address the statehood demand “by creating a legislature under an elected chief minister”. In addition, it will grant special powers under Article 371 sections a, gaf. “to bring the bureaucracy, including the Chief Secretary, under the Executive”.

Published – 01 Jul 2026 23:48 IST