Ladakh announces hill council polls, but civil society groups don’t budge

Why in the News

Ladakh’s elected hill councils are expanding from two councils of 26 constituencies each, in Leh and Kargil, to eight councils with 100 constituencies, and 36 seats are reserved for women for the first time. The Ladakh administration has announced polls to all eight councils, but Kargil observed a shutdown the same day, and the demands for Statehood and Sixth Schedule status remain unresolved.

What are Ladakh’s hill councils?

1. What they are: The Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Councils (LAHDCs) are elected district bodies that plan and run local development. They work like a district panchayat with wider powers.
2. Legal basis: The councils draw their powers from a law, the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Councils Act, 1997, and not from the Constitution.
3. Why they matter: Ladakh has been a Union Territory without a legislature since 2019, so the councils are the main elected bodies that govern within it.
4. The takeaway: More councils bring elected government closer to remote districts, but they do not answer the demand for constitutional safeguards.

What has the administration announced?

1. Polling date: Elections to all eight LAHDCs will be held on December 4. Panchayat and municipal elections are scheduled earlier, on November 21.
2. New districts and electors: Eight districts were created out of the earlier two, Leh and Kargil. A total of 1.87 lakh electors will choose the 100 councillors.
3. Election schedule: Nominations close on November 17 and scrutiny follows the next day. Candidates can withdraw till November 20.
4. Powers of the new councils: Ladakh’s Chief Secretary said the new councils “would retain all powers vested in them under the existing law”. He dismissed the claim that they would be “disempowered”.

Why are civil society groups not satisfied?

1. Kargil shutdown: The Kargil Democratic Alliance (KDA), a grouping of social, political and religious bodies, called the shutdown against the delimitation (the redrawing of constituency boundaries) and the timing of the polls.
2. Winter objection: The KDA wants the panchayat and municipal elections postponed to next year because of the harsh winter. Ladakh’s Member of Parliament wrote to the Lieutenant Governor about winter polling.
3. Stalled talks: The KDA and the Leh Apex Body were negotiating Statehood and Sixth Schedule status with the Union government. The Centre decided on October 22 not to resume the talks.
4. Boycott calls: Some social and religious bodies have called for a boycott of the polls. The Chief Secretary appealed to the leaders of Leh and Kargil to contest instead.
5. Administration’s reply: The Chief Secretary called protests “symbolic” and a democratic right. On the winter objection, he said schools stay open till about December 10 and polling booths will be heated.

Challenges

1. Legitimacy under boycott: Councils elected without the main Leh and Kargil groups would lack acceptance among the people they govern.
2. Powers given by law: Powers granted by a law can be changed by another law, which is why the groups seek constitutional protection.
3. Winter polling: December snow can cut off remote villages and lower turnout.
4. Smaller councils: Dividing two councils into eight spreads staff and funds across more and smaller bodies.

Way Forward

1. Resumed talks: The Union government should reopen dialogue with the Leh Apex Body and the KDA on a fixed schedule.
2. Winter arrangements: The administration should publish its plan for heating and access to remote polling stations.
3. Division of functions: The administration should notify the functions, staff and funds of each new council before the councils take office.
4. Written safeguards: The Centre should place its offer on land, jobs and culture in a draft text that Ladakh’s groups can examine.

Conclusion

The polls expand elected local government in Ladakh but leave the dispute over constitutional safeguards where it stood. The election process must be completed before December 8, and whether the Leh and Kargil groups contest or boycott will show if the new councils carry local consent.

Back2Basics: Sixth Schedule

1. What it is: The Sixth Schedule is a part of the Constitution, read with Article 244(2), that sets up Autonomous District Councils to govern tribal areas.
2. Where it applies: It covers 10 Autonomous District Councils in Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura and Mizoram.
3. Powers of the councils: These councils hold legislative, judicial and taxing powers over land, forests and customary law.
4. Ladakh’s demand: Ladakh’s groups seek inclusion to protect land, jobs, culture and the environment.

Matching Previous Year Question

“[2022] If a particular area is brought under the Fifth Schedule of the Constitution of India, which one of the following statements best reflects the consequence of it ? (a) This would prevent the transfer of land of tribal people to non-tribal people. (b) This would create a local self-governing body in that area. (c) This would convert that area into a Union Territory. (d) The State having such areas would be declared a Special Category State. ANSWER: (a)”