None of the 1,275 gazetted posts filled in Ladakh in the past six years, govt. informs parliamentary panel 

Ladakh faces job vacancies, protests, and budget cuts, with focus on infrastructure and renewable energy projects.

None of the 1,275 gazetted posts in Ladakh have been filled since the region became a Centrally administered territory in 2019, according to information provided by the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) to a parliamentary committee.

“Recruitment Rules for 75 categories of gazetted posts, aggregating a total of 1,142 posts have been framed,” the Ministry informed the Department-Related Parliamentary Standing Committee on Home Affairs.

Jobs and lack of employment opportunities were at the heart of protests witnessed by the Union Territory in the past five years. Ladakh, comprising the Kargil and Leh divisions, had erupted in protests on several occasions since 2019 after the special status of Jammu and Kashmir under Article 370 of the Constitution was revoked and the region turned into a Union Territory without a Legislative Assembly.

After talks between civil society leaders and the government broke down in March 2024, climate activist Sonam Wangchuk sat on an indefinite fast in Delhi in October the same year, to draw the government’s attention to their demands. The Ministry then agreed to resume the talks.

The Ministry also informed the committee that there were 3,596 vacancies in non-gazetted posts in various departments and recruitment to 3,172 posts were done through various agencies such as the Staff Selection Commission (SSC), Autonomous Hill Development Subordinate Services Recruitment Board, Leh and Kargil, and the Ladakh Police Board. It added that a staff selection board named the “Ladakh Subordinate Service Staff Selection Board” had been set up.

During the meeting of the committee held on February 21, the U.T. administration of Ladakh informed that it was focusing on road and telecom connectivity in the region. “Total road length is around 6,700 km. Since the creation of UT of Ladakh efforts are being made to focus on roads and bridges. Of the total 134 roads and 32 bridges, 40 have been completed,” the committee was informed.

The committee led by the Bharatiya Janata Party’s Radha Mohan Das Agarwal tabled the 252nd report on Demand For Grants (2025-2026) for the Ministry in the Rajya Sabha on March 10.