News Mania Desk/ Sohom Chatterjee / 9th September 2024
Sonam Wangchuk, a well-known climate activist from Ladakh, has requested PM Narendra Modi to enlist Ladakh in the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution which can grant the local people of that region law-making powers to protect their land and cultural identity.
Mr. Wangchuk has been in the news since March this year when he went on a 21-day fast, surviving only on salt and water, to demand statehood for Ladakh and its inclusion under the Constitution’s Sixth Schedule to help protect the ecologically fragile region from “greedy” industries.
Now, on September 1, the activist alongside 75 volunteers, set on a foot march from Leh to New Delhi with the agenda of requesting the Centre to resume dialogue with Ladakh’s leadership regarding their demands. Wangchuk at a virtual press conference said that he had not received any response to the memorandum of demands submitted to the PM when Modi visited Dras for the 25th anniversary of Kargil Vijay Diwas in July. He also claimed that the creation of five additional districts might have been “indirectly linked” to their protest.
“However, we still do not know if these districts have been granted decision-making powers,” Wangchuk stated by adding that if that is not done then it would be really unfortunate. “Ladakh is an ecologically fragile region facing industrial and climate-related challenges. I urge the prime minister to include it in the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution to safeguard the autonomy of its people.”
With this march, he intended to attract the attention of world leaders and global communities to this serious matter. Wangchuk, speaking to PTI, revealed that the Central government has granted the authority to the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Councils (LAHDCs) of Leh and Kargil to only spend the development funds. He said, “The people of Ladakh want law-making powers too. We want the Centre to resume discussions on the demands of the Ladakhi people.”
To avoid any political conflict with their foot march, the engineer said, “We are considering avoiding Haryana, which is about to hold elections.” They are protesting because the government did not keep their promise to provide tribal area status and full statehood to Ladakh which according to Wangchuk is because of pressure from “industrialists, who want to exploit the resources” of the ecologically fragile region.
Earlier he had told PTI that land in Ladakh is being allocated for solar-power projects without the consent of the LAHDCs. The government has already approved a 13-GW renewable-energy project, with a 7.5-GW solar park, in Ladakh.
