85% jobs reserved for locals in Ladakh

The Centre on Tuesday notified new policies on quota, official language and domicile for the Union Territory of Ladakh, offering 85 per cent jobs to Scheduled Tribes, besides one-third of the total number of seats in the autonomous hill development councils to women. English, Hindi, Urdu, Bhoti and Purgi will now be the official languages of the UT.

A gazette notification in the regard was issued on Tuesday. Last week, Union Home Minister Amit Shah had chaired a meeting with a high-powered committee (HPC) — comprising members of the Leh Apex Body (LAB) and the Kargil Democratic Alliance (KDA) — where a consensus to define a timeline for domicile certificates for the UT was arrived at. This has come as a shot in the arm for Ladakhis, who have been demanding statehood, Sixth Schedule, a separate Public Service Commission, etc. for the past four years. The KDA and LAB are leading the talks with the Ministry of Home Affairs, which has formed a panel that interacts with the leaders from time to time to discuss the modalities.

Under the new rules, those who live in Ladakh for 15 straight years after October 31, 2019, or have studied for a period of seven years and appeared in class 10 or 12 examination in an educational institution in the UT shall be considered domiciles of Ladakh. Children of Central government officials who have served in the UT for at least 10 years are also eligible for domicile.

For Ladakh resident certificate (LRC) holders or those eligible for the LRC, a resident certificate issued by the UT or proof of eligibility will be adequate, the notification says.

Unemployment has remained a major concern in the UT, which lacked a domicile policy of its own after being carved out of Jammu and Kashmir in 2019. “Ladakhis were disconnected from the employment policy of J&K, which retained its Public Service Commission after becoming a UT,” a Ladakh affairs observer said.

Locals also believe that allowing outsiders to settle in their region will cause cultural degradation in the long run.

Both regions of the UT — Muslim-dominated Kargil and Buddhist-majority Leh — have united in the fight. Sajjad Kargili, a KDA member who attended the meeting with the MHA, said the decision on job quota was a positive sign. “I hope the discussions on statehood and Sixth Schedule will also bear fruit,” he added.