The High Powered Committee (HPC), constituted by the Union Ministry of Home Affairs in January 2023 to address the issues and concerns of the people of Ladakh, convened in New Delhi on Tuesday.
The key concern raised during the meeting was taking forward discussions on the issue of “domicile certificates” to Ladakh residents with a view to safeguarding job rights for locals.
Sajjad Kargili, who is part of the HPC, said the committee has “reached consensus” that “to qualify as a domicile of Ladakh, a citizen must show continuous residence from 2019 with a 15-year prospective.” However, the decision, as per those present in the meeting, will be sent for a legal review before taking shape as policy.
This is the HPC’s third meeting this year. Representatives of the Ladakh Apex Body (LAB) and Kargil Democratic Alliance (KDA) that form part of the 15-member committee led by Minister of State, Home, Nityanand Rai, met on February 19, and a sub-committee was convened on February 24.
The demand for a domicile provision, like for J&K, was first discussed in February this year. “Ladakh Apex Body and KDA pushed for a 30-year domicile — MHA agreed to review its legal aspect,” Kargili said. Meanwhile, the next meeting of the HPC to discuss the Public Service Commission (PSC) is scheduled for next month.
Representatives from Ladakh had earlier told the Centre that on the lines of the High Court for J&K and Ladakh, the PSC should also have been joint; or alternatively, the Union Territory of Ladakh should be given a separate PSC.
Underlining the “no one in Ladakh has been appointed to a single gazetted post over the last six years, since Ladakh was carved out as a UT from the former state of J&K, KDA’s Kargili said, “There’s an immense sense of disappointment across Ladakh, because of a lack of a Public Service Commission. The needle has not moved on implementing any safeguards on the ground.”
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The LAB and KDA have been working with the MHA, raising four main demands — statehood for Ladakh, safeguards under the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution, reservation in jobs for the youth of Ladakh, and creation of separate parliamentary constituencies for the two parts of the region.
In March last year, the talks between the Centre and the Ladakh groups had reached an impasse, with members of the committee claiming that the ministry was refusing to engage on core matters of statehood and protections under the Sixth Schedule for Ladakh