L-G would be final authority in proposed U.T.-level body in Ladakh, says Centre’s proposal

The draft proposed by the Centre for a unique constitutional arrangement in Ladakh says that the Lieutenant Governor (L-G) would be the final authority on any regulation made by the Union Territory-level elected body.

In the 32-page document titled “Constitutional and Statutory Framework”, in response to a question on how the U.T.-level body’s decisions would take effect, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) said, “As a legislative practice enshrined in the Constitution of India, every regulation (law) made by the U.T.-level body would go to the Lt. Governor and would take effect after his assent.”

Two civil society groups, Leh Apex Body (LAB) and Kargil Democratic Alliance (KDA), are part of a high-level committee (HPC) constituted by the Centre in 2023, to ensure constitutional safeguards for the region, which became a U.T., following the revocation of Article 370’s applicability in the erstwhile State of Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) in 2019.

In a meeting on May 22 and September 9 with the LAB and KDA in Delhi, MHA proposed an elected body for the U.T. of Ladakh by introducing a new constitutional provision under Article 371, in a proposed Chapter “K” of the Constitution. The next round of meeting is scheduled this week.

On delimitation process

The draft, accessed by The Hindu asks, whether the delimitation of constituencies for the proposed U.T.-level elected body will be done by an election authority or a Delimitation Commission. It asks whether the delimitation would be only population-based or based on both population and area in different proportions such as 50-50, 60-40 or 40-60 or based on population, panchayat boundaries, seasonal inaccessibility, administrative boundaries and public convenience. There are questions about the electoral rolls whether it will be local body electoral rolls or Lok Sabha poll rolls.

On women’s representation, the draft explores multiple options, including reserving one-third or up to 50% of the seats in the proposed body for women. It also invites suggestions on whether such reservation should apply only to elected seats or extend to nominated positions as well.

The proposal is aimed at ensuring meaningful participation of women in Ladakh’s governance structure while aligning with broader constitutional provisions on political representation.

Several institutional questions

The draft proposes that the new constitutional amendment would create a special governance framework for Ladakh through a new Article in the Constitution, which would provide constitutional status to a U.T.-wide elected body for Ladakh, the existing Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Councils (LAHDCs) in each district, regulation-making (law-making), executive, planning and financial powers in areas such as land, culture and heritage, forests, environment, natural resources, planning and budgeting and major issues left undecided.

The draft seeks LAB’s and KDA’s views on several institutional questions — whether LAHDCs should receive constitutional status or continue under the existing LAHDC Act, 1997; whether members of the U.T.-level body should be elected directly by the public or indirectly through LAHDCs and panchayati raj institutions; whether nominated members should include experts with special knowledge; the role of Member of Parliament (MP) and LAHDC Chief Executive Councillors in the body.

“The principal task at this stage is to settle the constitutional and institutional choices that determine the coherence of the entire framework. The proposed next step is therefore to approve the answers to the options in principle, before proceeding to the clause-by-clause finalisation of the legislative instruments,” the draft said.

It added that once the decisions have been settled, the constitutional amendment and the proposed regulation under Article 240 of the Constitution can be revised into a coherent package, supported by a clear subject-allocation framework, a financial and administrative assessment, appropriate consultation, and a detailed implementation plan.