Syllabus: GS2/ Polity and Governance
Context
- The Centre has notified a series of regulations for Ladakh’s land, jobs, and cultural preservation, aimed at addressing concerns raised by the civil society in Ladakh over the past five years.
Background
- Ladakh became a Union Territory in 2019 without a Legislative Assembly after Article 370 of the Constitution was read down by the Parliament.
- A year later, the region comprising Buddhist-dominated Leh and Muslim-dominated Kargil district, erupted in protests pressing forth constitutional safeguards such as;
- Statehood for Ladakh,
- inclusion of Ladakh in the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution thus giving it a tribal status,
- job reservation for locals and a parliamentary seat each for Leh and Kargil.
What are the new regulations?
- Ladakh Civil Services Decentralization and Recruitment (Amendment) Regulation, 2025: This regulation introduces a domicile requirement for recruitment in government posts under the Union Territory of Ladakh, for the first time.
- The domicile is defined as a person who has resided in Ladakh for 15 years,
- a person who has studied for 7 years and appeared in either Class 10 or 12 examination in Ladakh,
- Children of Central Government employees who have served in Ladakh for at least 10 years; and children and spouses of domiciles.
- Ladakh Civil Services Domicile Certificate Rules, 2025: These rules lay out the procedure and documentation required to obtain a domicile certificate.
- The tehsildar is designated as the issuing authority, while the Deputy Commissioner is the appellate authority.
- Union Territory of Ladakh Reservation (Amendment) Regulation, 2025: This regulation caps the total reservation for Scheduled Castes (SC), Scheduled Tribes (ST), Other Backward Classes (OBC), and other socially and educationally backward groups at 85%, excluding the 10% reservation for Economically Weaker Sections (EWS).
- Ladakh Official Languages Regulation, 2025: This law recognises English, Hindi, Urdu, Bhoti, and Purgi as the official languages of Ladakh.
- It also mandates institutional support for the promotion of Shina, Brokskat, Balti, and Ladakhi, for preserving Ladakh’s linguistic and cultural diversity.
- Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Councils (Amendment) Regulation, 2025: This amends the LAHDC Act of 1997 to reserve one-third of the seats for women in the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Councils of Leh and Kargil, through rotation.
Limitations of the new regulations
- No Constitutional Protection: Made under Article 240, these executive rules lack permanence and can be altered by the Centre anytime, unlike the constitutionally guaranteed Sixth Schedule.
- No Land Safeguards: Absence of restrictions on land ownership by non-domiciles raises concerns over demographic changes, tourism pressure, and ecological impact.
- No Legislative Autonomy: LAHDCs remain administrative bodies without law-making powers, unlike Sixth Schedule councils with authority over land, forests, and customs.
- Symbolic cultural protection: While local languages have been recognised, there is no roadmap for their official use in education, governance, or the judiciary.
Concluding remarks
- The new regulations for Ladakh mark a step towards addressing long-standing local concerns over identity, employment, and representation.
- However, in the absence of constitutional safeguards, the measures remain limited in scope.
- For long-term stability and trust, the government must engage meaningfully with local stakeholders and consider stronger constitutional provisions to ensure autonomy and preservation of Ladakh’s unique socio-cultural and ecological landscape.
| Sixth Schedule of the Constitution – The Sixth Schedule was adopted under Article 244 of the Constitution with provisions for formation of autonomous administrative divisions within a state. 1. The Sixth Schedule is applicable to what are officially called as ‘tribal areas’ in the States of Assam, Meghalaya, Mizoram and Tripura. There are 10 such ‘tribal areas’ at present in these four States. 2. These divisions, in the form of Autonomous District Councils (ADCs), were granted certain legislative, judicial and administrative autonomy within the state. – Composition: According to the Sixth Schedule, the ADCs administering a region within a state have 30 members with a term of five years. 1. The Bodoland Territorial Council in Assam is an exception to this with more than 40 members and rights to make laws on 39 issues. – Jurisdiction: ADCs can make laws, rules and regulations with regard to land, forest, water, agriculture, village councils, health, sanitation, village and town level policing, inheritance of property, marriage and divorce, social customs, and mining, among other issues. 1. ADCs also have powers to form courts to hear cases where both parties are members of Scheduled Tribes and the maximum sentence is less than 5 years in prison. |
Source: IE