Ladakh demands protection under Sixth Schedule

• A high-level committee for the Union Territory of Ladakh was constituted by the Ministry of Home Affairs.
• The demands being raised by Ladakh are full statehood and implementation of the Sixth Schedule along with separate Lok Sabha seats for Kargil and Leh.

Functions of the Committee

• This committee will discuss the preservation of the unique culture and language of the region, given the geographical location and strategic importance of Ladakh.
• moreoverThe Committee is also entrusted with the task of ensuring security of the land as well as recommending measures to generate employment for the people of Ladakh.
• The committee will discuss issues related to empowerment of Ladakh Autonomous Hill District Councils of Leh and Kargil along with formulating strategies for inclusive development.

Need for formation of committee

• Various civil society groups in LadakhThey have been demanding measures to protect land, resources and employment ever since Parliament removed the special status given to the state of Jammu and Kashmir under Article 370 of the Constitution in 2019.
• There are growing concerns among the people of Ladakh that these changes could lead to big businesses and conglomerates taking away jobs and land from the local people.
• Civil society groups in Ladakh are also demanding inclusion of the region in the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution.
• In 2020, "People's Movement for Constitutional Safeguards under Sixth Schedule also known as Apex Body Leh was formed.
• Ladakh civil society groups announcedthat if their demands were not met they would boycott the upcoming District Autonomous Council elections.

Sixth Schedule of the Constitution

• Sixth Schedule of the Constitution, Articles 244(2) and 275(1) provide for the administration of tribal areas in Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura and Mizoram.
• The Sixth Schedule of the Constitution aims to protect the land of the local tribal population, employment and cultural identity are to be protected.
• Articles of the ConstitutionThe Sixth Schedule, under Article 244, protects the autonomy of local and tribal communities through the creation of Autonomous Development Councils (ADCs) that can legislate on land, public health, and agriculture.
• Under the Sixth Schedule the Governor has the power to create a new autonomous district/region or to change the territorial jurisdiction or the name of an autonomous district or autonomous region.
• If there are different tribes in an autonomous district, the Governor may divide the district into several autonomous regions.
• Every autonomous district shall have a District Council, which shall consist of not more than thirty members, four of whom are nominated by the Governor while the rest are elected on the basis of adult suffrage.
• Acts of Parliament or the State Legislature do not apply to autonomous districts and autonomous regions or apply with specified modifications and exceptions.
• One of the most important features of the Sixth Schedule is the power of the District Councils to make laws.
• those lands, can make laws on certain specific matters like forests, canal water, shifting cultivation, village administration, inheritance of property, marriage and divorce, social customs etc.
• however, all laws made under this provision shall be of no effect unless assented to by the Governor of the State.

Difference between Fifth and Sixth Schedule :-