Srinagar, Sep 08 (KNO): Talks between representatives of civil society groups in Ladakh and the Centre are set to resume in New Delhi on Wednesday, with both sides returning to the negotiating table after a series of fresh confidence-building measures in the Union Territory.
According to the details available with the news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO) the meeting between the Leh Apex Body (LAB), Kargil Democratic Alliance (KDA) and the Union Home Ministry's High-Powered Committee (HPC) is scheduled for around 4 pm on September 9.
Several representatives of the two prominent socio-religious groups reached Delhi on Tuesday ahead of the discussions.
"We are hopeful about the talks. We will push for the inclusion of Ladakh in the Sixth Schedule to protect land, culture, jobs, ecology and identity," KDA member Sajjad Kargili said.
The latest round comes after the May 22 discussions, during which the Centre had indicated that a "customised sui generis model" could be worked out by incorporating provisions under Article 371.
While describing the demand for full statehood as a "long-term aspiration", the Union Home Ministry had also committed to exploring a tailored governance arrangement for Ladakh, including a Union Territory-level elected body with executive, financial and legislative powers.
Ladakh's political, social and religious groups have been pressing for stronger constitutional safeguards since the region was separated from the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir and made a Union Territory in 2019.
Their demands have primarily centred on protecting Ladakh's fragile ecology, land, employment opportunities, cultural identity and political representation.
Pertinently, in recent weeks, the Ladakh administration has announced or approved several measures that have been seen as confidence-building steps ahead of the talks.
These include the establishment of a Bench of the High Court of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh in the Union Territory, approval of the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Councils (Nautor Regularisation) Rules, 2026, and plans to establish hill councils in all seven districts of Ladakh, including the five districts created recently.
However, the new measures have also raised concerns among the civil society representatives.
Kargili said decisions relating to land had been taken without adequate consultations with stakeholders.
"The decisions regarding the land were taken without consultations. We would have expected that the current talks were taken into consideration and the stakeholders were taken onboard," he said.
The proposed expansion of the hill council system is also expected to figure prominently in the discussions.
With each council proposed to have 30 members, the seven councils would together provide for 210 elected representatives in a Union Territory with a population of around 3.5 lakh.
The LAB and KDA are expected to argue that the councils should have greater autonomy and constitutional protection, along the lines of institutions functioning under the Sixth Schedule in parts of northeastern India.
"We demand that these hill councils are autonomous with constitutional powers as in the North-East under the Sixth Schedule," Kargili said.
The two groups are also likely to seek the withdrawal of police cases registered against locals who took part in protests in September last year.
Representatives of LAB and KDA are expected to raise the issue of compensation for the families of those killed in protest as well as for people who sustained injuries—(KNO)