Behind removal of Ladakh’s first L-G Mathur: raging unrest, Hill Councils vs bureaucracy row

Ladakh became a UT on October 31, 2019, two months after the abrogation of Article 370 and bifurcation of the erstwhile Jammu and Kashmir state into two UTs – J&K and Ladakh – by the Centre. This had been the long-standing demand of many Buddhists of Ladakh, who celebrated the Centre’s move granting the UT status to the region.

However, three years down the line, the UT has been in the throes of a sustained agitation by various bodies seeking statehood and constitutional safeguards for land, jobs and culture under the Sixth Schedule. The civil society groups of the UT’s two districts, Leh and Kargil, have come together under the aegis of the Leh Apex Body (LAB) and the Kargil Democratic Alliance (KDA) over these issues. They are now going to hold a joint protest in Delhi on February 15.

Observers attribute the raging unrest in Ladakh, especially in the Buddhist-dominated Leh, to the Mathur administration’s “failure” to decentralise power. Many people in Leh and Kargil point out that L-G Mathur’s tenure saw the “undermining” and “disempowerment” of the elected Hill Councils in both the districts by his administration.

This was evident when less than a year after Ladakh was granted the UT status, the LAHDC-Leh unanimously passed a resolution in early September 2020 in the presence of the BJP’s Ladakh MP Yamyang Tsering Namgyal, demanding safeguards for the people of the region with regard to land, environment, employment, business, and cultural resources, either under the Constitution’s Article 371 or its Sixth Schedule or the Domicile Act.

The Magsaysay Award-winning innovator-turned-climate activist, Sonam Wangchuk, one of the most popular voices from Ladakh who inspired the movie “3 Idiots’’, had recently observed a five-day “environment fast’’ beginning the Republic Day to press for bringing Ladakh under the Sixth Schedule.

Leh’s Hill Council was constituted under the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council Act 1995 following a protracted agitation by Buddhists. In 2003, the J&K government announced a separate autonomous Hill Council for Kargil district as well.

Prior to Ladakh becoming a UT, both the Hill Councils used to work in cooperation with the village panchayats while taking decisions on matters concerning economic development, healthcare, education, land use, taxation and local governance. Each of the Hill Councils used to be headed by a Chief Executive Councillor, who enjoyed the status of a cabinet minister. The divisional administration used to look after law and order, communications and the higher education in the region.

However, post October 31, 2019, the administration did not frame rules defining the powers of the Hill Councils vis-a-vis the bureaucracy. This led to a tussle for one-upmanship between people’s elected representatives and the bureaucracy.

This came into the open seven months after Mathur took charge as the LG when the Leh Hill Council’s Chief Executive Councillor Gyal P Wangyal, along with his Deputy Tsering Sandup, executive councillors and councillors sat on dharna outside Raj Bhawan on May 4, 2020, in protest against his administration’s failure to evacuate Ladakhis stranded in various parts of the country during the first wave of the Covid-19. A day earlier, the BJP’s Ladakh unit president Chering Dorjay stepped down from his post on the issue.

Last year, the members of the Hill Council in Leh had boycotted the official Republic Day function after they were allegedly denied entry into the venue through the VIP gate. Describing it an insult to the people of Ladakh, they had even warned that in such circumstances, they could think of celebrating the Independence Day and Republic Day functions separately with district level officers and the public.

The tug of war between the Hill Councils and the administration continues till date.

Some local people say that many announcements made by L-G Mathur were also not implemented. His administration had announced the setting up of a medical college at Leh, which has not fructified, a local said, adding that unemployment was another cause of concern among the youth.

In the absence of any Service Selection Board or the Public Service Commission for Ladakh, the Staff Selection Commission advertised 2,000 posts. Of them, just a little over 200 have been filled up so far, while the recruitment process for the remaining was still in progress, they said, adding that the administration did not make rules even for filling up gazetted vacancies.