Crime Today News
None of the 1,275 gazetted posts in Ladakh have been filled since August 2019, when the region was turned into a Union territory, the Centre has told a parliamentary panel, reported The Hindu on Friday.
A total of 3,596 non-gazetted posts were also vacant in various departments, the Union Ministry of Home Affairs told the Department-Related Parliamentary Standing Committee on Home Affairs in a report tabled on March 10.
It added that recruitment to 3,172 posts was done through the Staff Selection Commission, Autonomous Hill Development Subordinate Services Recruitment Board, Leh and Kargil, and the Ladakh Police Board, among other departments.
On August 5, 2019, the Bharatiya Janata Party-led Union government rescinded the special status of Jammu and Kashmir under Article 370 of the Constitution and bifurcated the state into the Union territories of Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh.
This, along with the lack of a legislature in Ladakh, has led to increasing insecurities among the residents of Ladakh about their land, nature, resources and livelihoods and stoked fears that the region’s cultural identity and fragile ecosystem may be in jeopardy.
In the last five years, the Union territory has seen several protests over jobs and lack of employment opportunities, according to The Hindu.
In October, climate activist Sonam Wangchuk started an indefinite fast, demanding statehood for Ladakh, its inclusion under the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution, job reservation for locals and two Lok Sabha and one Rajya Sabha seats for the region.
The Sixth Schedule under Article 244 (Administration of Scheduled Areas and Tribal Areas) of the Constitution guarantees certain protections for land and a nominal autonomy for citizens in designated tribal areas. In Ladakh, more than 97% of the population belongs to the Scheduled Tribes.
He ended his fast after the Union Ministry of Home Affairs assured him that talks would be resumed with representatives from Ladakh in December on a set of demands to protect the Union territory under constitutional provisions.
The ministry told the parliamentary panel that a staff selection board named the “Ladakh Subordinate Service Staff Selection Board” had been set up.
The panel noted that fund allocations for Ladakh were reduced for the financial year 2025-’26 to Rs 4,692.15 crore from Rs 5,958 crore in 2024-’25, reported The Hindu.
“The Committee feels that the reduction in budgetary allocation can hamper the ongoing works and schemes of the Union Territory,” the newspaper quoted the panel as saying. “The Committee recommends that MHA may need to pursue the additional fund requirement with Ministry of Finance at RE [Revised Estimate] stage if the UT of Ladakh seeks additional funds at later stage.”
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