Customised model suitable for Ladakh will be adopted under Article 371, says Home Ministry draft

A customised sui generis model, which is most suitable for Ladakh, will be adopted under the provisions of Article 371 for the Union Territory of Ladakh, said the draft shared by a team of Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) with the leaders of civil society groups of the region on Friday (July 3, 2026).Referring to the fifth meeting held on May 22 this year of the Sub-committee of the High-Powered Committee (HPC) on Ladakh, the MHA team released the minutes of the meeting agreed upon by the Centre and the leaders of civil society groups of the Leh Apex Body (LAB) and the Kargil Democratic Alliance (KDA). Centre offering Ladakh unique governance model, demand for Statehood to continue: Leh Apex Body leaderThe MHA note said the next logical step would be to further empower the Union Territory through a democratic institutional framework that provided a political voice.

It was unanimously decided that while Statehood would remain the long-term aspiration of Ladakh, in the present situation, as a first step, an appropriate customised model of governance by establishing a Union Territory-level elected body with executive financial and legislative powers would be established, the draft said.The minutes of the meeting said the model of constitutional safeguards with Article 371 was also discussed. “There have been instances of invoking Article 371(A to J) and it was agreed that a customised model which is most suitable for Ladakh would be adopted,” it said.

According to the meeting details, it was decided that a draft proposal covering the powers and functions, executive financial and legislative, of this Union Territory-level elected body in harmonious relations with the Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) would be prepared for further discussion and fine-tuning. Financial decisions will rest with elected leaders: Sonam Wangchuk on Ladakh’s agreement with CentreFollow-up meetingThe MHA held a follow-up meeting in Leh with the leaders and the minutes of the meeting were signed by 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 Chief Executive Councillor Jaffar Akhoon, KDA co-chairman Asgar Ali Karbalai besides others prominent leaders of the region.

It is for the first time the MHA made public a detailed presentation on the progress achieved through five rounds of meetings between the Centre and representatives of Ladakh.“The presentation also outlined the probable structure of self-governance in Ladakh. The representatives from Ladakh reiterated the demand for Statehood and Sixth schedule for Ladakh.

They also reiterated the demand regarding Ladakh Administrative and Police Service and regarding withdrawal of cases of 24, September 2025 incident,” reads the minutes of the meeting.It said the leaders from Ladakh proposed that the bureaucracy may be made accountable to the elected government. “It was agreed that in terms of functions and civil servants for the subjects under the purview of the Union Territory-level elected body, the control and supervision, including appraisal, will be exercised by the elected executive body,” it added.

Centre backtracking on draft agreed on May 22: Sonam WangchukGovernment supportThe MHA draft suggested that further details “will be finalised in the future meetings as per the Transaction of Business Rules”. It said the participants also noted the substantial support extended by the government to Ladakh in recent years through dialogue initiatives, protective legislation in terms of domicile criteria and reservations, employment measures, developmental 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, there have been growing demands over Statehood and Sixth Schedule, as leaders expressed fears over jobs, land, language, environment and customs of the region. Four civilians were killed and around 90 injured in a rare violence in September last year over the demands of Statehood inclusion under the Sixth Schedule. Published - July 03, 2026 10:56 pm IST Read Comments Copy link Email Facebook Twitter Telegram LinkedIn WhatsApp Reddit READ LATER SEE ALL Remove Related Topics Ladakh / government