Says it can address critical issues on spot
*Both bodies to sit together today to discuss agenda
Sanjeev Pargal
JAMMU, May 25: Ahead of crucial sitting of the High Powered Committee (HPC) on Ladakh set up by the Union Ministry of Home Affairs which is taking place after over four months, the Leh Apex Body (LAB) and Kargil Democratic Alliance (KDA) have sought presence of Union Home Minister Amit Shah in the meeting for addressing their issues which are now pending for past over four years.
A senior functionary of the LAB told the Excelsior on telephone from Leh that they have requested senior officers of the MHA who are engaged in backchannel talks with them that if Amit Shah himself attends the meeting it would be better as some of the pending issues like domiciles and PSC etc will be resolved on spot to clear the decks for employment especially to the gazetted cadre which hasn’t taken since August 5, 2019 when Ladakh was bifurcated from Jammu and Kashmir and made a separate Union Territory.
The HPC is headed by Union Minister of State for Home Nityanand Rai and usually he chairs the meeting. However, as a special gesture, the LAB functionaries have urged the officials who have been holding backchannel talks with them for developing consensus on their demands, for presence of Amit Shah in the meeting on the pretext that it will lead to better understanding of their issues and may be some of them are addressed on spot.
“However, it will be known by tomorrow evening that whether Shah will chair the meeting or Nityanand Rai,” the LAB functionary said.
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He said the LAB and KDA will hold joint meeting in New Delhi tomorrow evening to discuss agenda and issues which they will take up jointly in May 27 meeting which is scheduled at 10 AM.
Besides Rai as the Chairman, the HPC comprised Lieutenant Governor of Ladakh Brig (Retd) BD Mishra, Chairpersons of Leh and Kargil Hill Development Councils, Ladakh MP, Chief Secretary Ladakh, MHA Joint Secretary Incharge Ladakh Affairs and around 10 members from LAB and KDA.
The LAB and KDA had earlier proposed that the talks should be extended to two days on May 27 and 28 as the dialogue has already been delayed with no meeting taking place since January 15, 2025 when last meeting was held in the Union capital.
They had sought that the talks should be extended to two days, instead of just one, with a day reserved for discussion on issues like domicile, jobs, PSC etc and second day for their major demands including Statehood and Sixth Schedule status.
The LAB and KDA leaders were of the view that they first want issues of domicile and reservations given to Economic Weaker Sections (EWS) settled which would clear the decks for advertisement of Government jobs especially in the gazetted cadre, which has been pending since August 5, 2019 when Ladakh was made the UT.
The second issue is affiliation with either Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) or Jammu and Kashmir PSC pending its own dedicated PSC for recruitment in the gazetted cadre.
The LAB and KDA have proposed 1989 as deadline for treating people living in Ladakh as domiciles of the UT as against 15 years timeline fixed for Jammu and Kashmir.
On 95 percent reservations for locals, 80 percent will go to STs, 4 percent to Actual Line of Control (ALC), 10 per cent to Economically Weaker Sections (EWS), one percent to SCs and five percent to others but they too will be domiciles of Ladakh. However, no such order has been issued so far despite a decision taken in the meeting last December.
The non-gazetted recruitments in Ladakh UT were conducted on the basis of LRC (Ladakh Resident Certificate), which was replica of State Subject used in the erstwhile State of Jammu and Kashmir of which Ladakh was third region besides Jammu and Kashmir.
However, there has been no headway on two other demands of LAB and KDA including grant of Statehood and Sixth Schedule status to Ladakh. The MHA has already briefed the Ladakh representatives that their another demand for two Parliamentary seats instead of one can be taken up only after delimitation, which is freezed since 2026, is resumed with setting up of the Commission.
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