Ladakh will not be granted statehood or a conventional legislature, according to the region’s Chief Secretary. However, the Centre and local leadership have reached a broad consensus on creating a new, one-of-a-kind elected body to provide greater self-governance. This proposed framework will be tied to Article 371 of the Constitution and will sit above the existing Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Councils in Leh and Kargil, with village-level panchayats continuing at the grassroots.
Officials state that the new body would receive legislative, executive, and financial powers, though its exact scope is still being negotiated between Ladakh’s civil society groups and the central government. Discussions have included direct elections through constituencies, though the government stated it will not impose a model without broader local consensus. The framework will be discussed further in upcoming talks in Delhi.
Ladakhi groups previously agitated following the region’s 2019 reorganisation into a Union Territory without its own legislature. While some groups warned of intensified protests if demands for statehood and inclusion under the Constitution’s Sixth Schedule are not met, the Centre has resisted both and steered discussions toward the new proposal. Any final arrangement will require sign-off from both the central government and Ladakhi stakeholders.