Leh Apex Body (LAB) and Kargil Democratic Alliance (KDA) today reached an In-Principle Understanding with the Government of India on restoring democracy in Ladakh and providing constitutional safeguards on the lines of article 371 A, F, and G (as applied to Nagaland, Sikkim and Mizoram).

Leh Apex Body (LAB) and Kargil Democratic Alliance (KDA) today reached an In-Principle Understanding with the Govenment of India on restoring democracy in Ladakh and providing constitutional safeguards on the lines of article 371 A, F, and G (as applied to Nagaland, Sikkim and Mizoram).

The sub-committee comprising top representatives from Leh Apex Body &Kargil Democratic Alliance and also from the Ministry of Home Affairs met today to deliberate on the fiuture administrative and political framework of Ladakh.

During the meeting, both LAB and KDA reiterated the long-standing aspirations of the people of Ladakh regarding the restoration of democracy, constitutional safeguards, and the demand for Statehood and Sixth Schedule protections reflecting the shared commitment of all stakcholders towards an inclusive and sustainable govermance framework for the region.
Following detailed and constructive deliberations, both sides have arrived at an in-principle understanding on several critical points.

In this model the legislative, executive and financial powers will rest with elected representatives through a Union Territory level legislative body. All bureaucrats of the UT including the Chief Secretary will come under the executive head of the UT level clected body (proposed to be Chief Minister).

It was explained by the MHA authorities that the only reason why Ladakh cannot be made a state at the moment is that it currently lacks adequate revenue generation to meet the revenue expenditures like salaries of employees. However, this setup will lead Ladakh towards full statehood as when it meets the revenue criteria.

The KDA and LAB stated that they look forward to closely working out the
finer operational details with the MHA in consultation with legal and constitutional experts, and co chairman of LAB and KDA that also included the renowned climate change activist Sonam Wangchuk who was released after seven months of detention in a Rajasthan jail.