Loading…
The Ministry of Home Affairs proposed a new constitutional provision, Article 371(K), for Ladakh at a sub-committee meeting in New Delhi on 9 September 2026.
It would create a directly elected Union Territory-level body with legislative powers over land, transfer of property, culture and language, forests, environment and natural resources.
These are subjects otherwise covered by presidential regulations for Union Territories under Article 240, and the model draws on the safeguards in Articles 371A (Nagaland) and 371G (Mizoram).
Finance, budget, executive decision-making, the bureaucracy and police and public order were left undecided, and no draft was shared.
The Leh Apex Body and Kargil Democratic Alliance called the meeting very disappointing and continue to demand full statehood and Sixth Schedule status; the next round is due at Kargil in the first week of October 2026.
Contains special provisions for particular states - 371A for Nagaland, 371B for Assam, 371C for Manipur, 371D for Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, 371G for Mizoram. The proposal would add a Chapter K on the same pattern, but for a Union Territory.
Empowers the President to make regulations for the peace, progress and good government of certain Union Territories. The proposed Ladakh body would legislate on subjects otherwise reserved to this presidential power.
Provides for autonomous district councils in the tribal areas of Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura and Mizoram. Ladakh's representative bodies have demanded inclusion under it; the Article 371(K) route is an alternative to that demand, not a grant of it.
Bifurcated the erstwhile state and created Ladakh as a Union Territory without a legislature on 31 October 2019 - the origin of the present demand for elected governance.
| Route | What it would give Ladakh | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Proposed Article 371(K) | Directly elected UT-level body legislating on land, culture and language, forests, environment and natural resources | Proposed by MHA on 9 September 2026; no draft shared |
| Sixth Schedule inclusion | Autonomous district councils with tribal-area powers, as in Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura and Mizoram | Demanded by LAB and KDA; not conceded |
| Full statehood | A full legislative assembly and state government | Demanded by LAB and KDA; not conceded |
| Status quo since 2019 | Union Territory without a legislature, run by the Lieutenant Governor, with Hill Councils at Leh and Kargil | In force |
Union ministry conducting the talks and author of the Article 371(K) proposal; administers Union Territories
Coalition of political, religious and social groups of Leh district pressing for statehood and Sixth Schedule status
Counterpart alliance from Kargil district, negotiating jointly with the Leh Apex Body
A design made for one case alone. Ladakh would get an elected legislature-like body without becoming a state and without the Sixth Schedule, with powers confined to listed subjects rather than a full State List.
Simple Analogy: A tailored suit, not an off-the-rack size.
GS Paper 2 > Indian Constitution - special provisions for states and regions, Union Territories, federal structure, devolution of powers
General Awareness > Indian polity and constitutional articles
General Awareness > Polity and current events
The provisions in Fifth Schedule and Sixth Schedule in the Constitution of India are made in order to
Answer: protect the interests of Scheduled Tribes
A proposed Chapter K under Part XXI creating a directly elected, legislatively empowered body for the UT of Ladakh.
Presidential power to make regulations for the peace, progress and good government of certain Union Territories.
Constitutional provision for autonomous district councils in tribal areas of Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura and Mizoram.
Elected councils at Leh and Kargil that administer local subjects in Ladakh.