Ladakh chief secretary calls rejection of Centre's Article 371-K draft 'very unfortunate'

Ladakh’s Chief Secretary Ashish Kundra on Saturday called the rejection of the Centre’s latest offer to the Union Territory “very unfortunate”, saying leaders in Leh and Kargil had thrown out a 32-page Home Ministry framework within two hours of receiving it.

“It was surprising to see that the document was dismissed outright within just two hours of being received,” Kundra told a press conference in Leh. “The government of India is fully committed to finding a political solution at the earliest.”

The Leh Apex Body (LAB) and the Kargil Democratic Alliance (KDA) turned the draft down on Friday. The two sides are due to meet again in New Delhi on 22 October.

What the Centre offered

The Home Ministry handed over the framework on 16 October, a day after its officials held talks with Ladakh’s representatives in Leh. It sets out two stages: a constitutional amendment inserting a new Article 371-K for Ladakh, followed by a regulation under Article 240 of the Constitution. It proposes a directly elected body for the whole Union Territory, with safeguards on land, natural resources and culture.

Kundra said the paper was a basis for discussion, not a finished law. Much was left open: what the body would be called and who would sit on it, how members would be elected and by which authority, seats for women and under-represented communities, nominated and ex officio members, delimitation, electoral rolls and tenure, and how the new body would work alongside the hill councils, panchayats and municipalities.

“Not every detail can be incorporated into a constitutional amendment,” he said. The issues, he added, “could not be settled unilaterally” and needed broad agreement among Ladakh’s leaders. “Negotiations require an open mind, mutual trust and, above all, patience.”

He said the Centre was willing to consider changes and hoped the remaining issues could be settled “in the coming weeks and months”. He also listed steps already taken, including higher reservation for local residents, recognition of regional languages and seats for women in the hill councils. “There is no reason for anyone to lose hope,” he said.

Why Leh and Kargil said no

The two groups say the draft does not meet their demand for constitutional safeguards and a legislature with executive, legislative and financial powers.

LAB chairman Chering Dorjay Lakruk confirmed that both bodies had rejected the offer. KDA co-chairman Asgar Ali Karbalai said the Home Ministry had “backtracked” from the understanding reached in May, when the two sides agreed in principle to extend safeguards to Ladakh along the lines of Articles 371A, 371F and 371G, which cover Nagaland, Sikkim and Mizoram. He said the proposed body would sit below the existing council and called the change “not a good signal”.

Karbalai also accused the Lieutenant Governor and the Chief Secretary of hyping development projects and presenting them to the Prime Minister. The groups had called the previous round of talks, held in New Delhi on 9 September, a “non-starter”.

New rules for the hill councils

Separately, the Centre has amended the regulation governing Ladakh’s two autonomous hill development councils. The administration can now set the number of elected seats in each council between 7 and 24, nominate up to four members from women and unrepresented communities, and extend a council’s five-year term if holding elections is considered impracticable.

The 22 October meeting in Delhi will show whether the draft can be reworked or whether the talks stall again.