‘Hill Councils enjoy powers in line with Sixth Schedule’
Says jobs, employment, land to be protected
Mohinder Verma
JAMMU, Mar 17: Union Ministry of Home Affairs is working towards enhancing penetration of nearly 60 flagship and individual beneficiary centric schemes of different Ministries of Government of India in the Union Territory of Ladakh. Moreover, adequate steps will be taken to protect jobs, employment and land in Leh and Kargil districts as is being demanded by the local people.
In reply to a question in the Lok Sabha regarding any proposal to grant tribal status to the Union Territory of Ladakh, Minister of State in the Ministry of Home Affairs G Kishan Reddy said, “as per the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganization Act, 2019, the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council Act, 1997 as amended from time to time, continues to be applicable to the successor Union Territory of Ladakh”.
The LAHDC Act, 1997 provides for establishment of Autonomous Hill Development Councils in the Ladakh region and these Councils came into existence in Leh in 1995 and in Kargil in 2003.
“The powers given to these Councils are more or less in line with the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution of India and after the amendment of the LAHDC Act in the year 2018 these Councils have been further empowered”, the Union Minister said in the reply.
He disclosed that Government of India and the administration of the Union Territory of Ladakh are working towards enhancing penetration of 13 flagship and 44 individual beneficiary centric schemes of the Government of India among the eligible persons/families in both the districts of Ladakh Union Territory.
About recent agitation in the region regarding inclusion of Ladakh in the Sixth Schedule of Constitution of India, the Union Minister said, “the administration of UT of Ladakh has reported that certain peaceful protests for inclusion of Ladakh under 6th Schedule along with demands for protection of job, employment, land, culture and environment etc have taken place in the districts of Leh and Kargil”.
“All the concerns of the people of both the districts will be taken care of and their rights will be protected for which a detailed exercise is going on in the Union Ministry of Home Affairs”, the Minister informed the Lok Sabha.
When contacted, Member of Parliament from Ladakh Jamyang Tsering Namgyal said, “Government of India wants to ensure that benefit of all its flagship schemes is provided to each and every people in the Union Territory of Ladakh”, adding “moreover Ministry of Home Affairs is going to initiate all out steps to ensure that all the eligible people of the Leh and Kargil districts get the optimum benefit of the individual centric schemes”.
It may be recalled that Union Cabinet Secretary Rajiv Gauba in a meeting held early this month had stated that Government will sharply focus on schemes aimed at individuals, such as scholarships or houses in the Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh in an effort to push its development narrative in the region.
It was decided that the schemes must see 100% coverage with no potential beneficiary being excluded for lack of funds.
“The emphasis on schemes that touch individual beneficiaries comes from the belief that this will have a perceptible impact on the ground and highlight the Government’s intent on the development front to the residents of both the UTs”, official sources said.
It is pertinent to mention here that flagship schemes of the Government of India are those schemes which are the main or most important and address major national concerns on health, education, environment, irrigation, urban and rural development, employment and other sectors while as individual schemes directly improve people’s lives.
“There are several schemes of the Tribal Affairs Ministry which Government of India wants to implement in totality in the Union Territory of Ladakh”, sources said. These schemes are pre-matric and post-matric scholarships for Scheduled Tribe students for studying abroad, scholarship for higher education of ST students, grant-in-aid to voluntary organizations working for welfare of STs, development of vulnerable tribal groups and support for development and marketing of tribal products/ produce etc.
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