In a landmark move, the Ladakh administration on Sunday issued a crucial notification reserving 80% government jobs for Scheduled Tribes (STs) and 1% for Scheduled Castes (SCs).
Reservations have also been notified for other categories, including 4% for residents of areas adjoining the Actual Line of Control (ALC), and 10% for Economically Weaker Sections (EWS). Likewise, horizontal reservations include 6% for ex-servicemen and 4% for Persons with Benchmark Disabilities, with further division as per the definition under the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016.
The notification also provides a detailed framework for reservation in promotions. As per the amended Rule 9, 1% of promotional posts are reserved for SCs and 84% for STs. A corresponding 100-point roster system shall also be maintained for promotions.
Another notification has identified 52 revenue villages—18 in Leh district along the Line of Control (LoC) and Line of Actual Control (LAC), and 34 in Kargil district along the LoC—as eligible areas, whose residents will now benefit from the revised reservation norms.
The amendments are 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 (No. 1 of 2025), and come into force from the date of their publication in the Official Gazette.
Dr Pawan Kotwal, Chief Secretary, Ladakh, said that 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.
Speaking on the matter, Secretary, GAD, Ladakh, Michael D’Souza stated that the notification also amends the process for preparing select lists. It introduces a structured three-list approach to ensure transparency in both unreserved and reserved selections, proper accommodation of horizontal reservations, merit-based seniority, conversion of unfilled EWS vacancies into unreserved slots, and maintenance of backlogs for unfilled reserved categories. The notification also amended the roster maintenance and implementation as a 100-point running roster system that will be used for each service, cadre, and grade.
The declaration of border villages follows a structured process initiated by the administration with a one-member commission under the chairmanship of Justice Bansi Lal Bhat, former judge of the High Court of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh. The commission was tasked with identifying areas adjoining the Actual Line of Control (ALC) in the UT of Ladakh for reservation benefits under the Act.