Ladakh admn notifies reservation rules, 80 per cent quota for STs

The Ladakh administration has notified the Ladakh Reservation (Amendment) Rules, 2025, redressing the long pending concern of the locals, especially the youth of the Union territory.

The amendments have been made in exercise of the powers conferred under Section 23 of the Jammu and Kashmir Reservation Act, 2004, as amended by the UT of Ladakh Reservation (Amendment) Regulation, 2025, and come into force from the date of their publication in the official gazette.

The exercise was carried out by the Social and Tribal Welfare Department along with General Administrative Department.

Ladakh Chief Secretary Pawan Kotwal said these revised rules aim to update the legal terminology, restructure reservation quotas, and streamline the roster and recruitment procedures in alignment with central legislations such as the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016.

He added that as per the amended Rule 4, reservation in direct recruitment is restructured with Scheduled Castes (SC) having reservation of 1%, Scheduled Tribes (ST) 80%, Residents of Areas Adjoining the Actual Line of Control (ALC) 4% and Economically Weaker Sections (EWS) 10%. Likewise, the horizontal reservations follow ex-servicemen 6% and Persons with Benchmark Disabilities 4% with further division based on the definition under the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016.

The notification also presents an elaborated understanding of reservation in promotions and as per the amended Rule 9, SCs will have 1 per cent while STs will have 84 per cent reservation in promotion.

The administration of Ladakh has also issued a notification declaring specific areas as areas adjoining the Actual Line of Control (ALC) under the provisions of the Jammu and Kashmir Reservation Act, 2004, as amended by the UT of Ladakh Reservation (Amendment) Regulation, 2025.

As per the notification, this includes 18 revenue villages in Leh district situated along the Line of Control (LoC) and Line of Actual Control (LAC), and 34 revenue villages in Kargil district situated along the LoC. This declaration will enable residents of these identified areas to avail reservation benefits as specified in the amended Ladakh Reservation Rules.

Locals in Ladakh have been demanding reservation in employment for locals along with statehood and inclusion of the UT under Sixth Schedule of the Constitution. As the majority of population in the UT belongs to the Scheduled Tribe category, the new reservation policy is likely to calm down the passions among the youth who are holding protest demonstrations regarding their demands for over four years now.