Overview
- The Ministry of Home Affairs formally presented a proposal called Chapter K during talks in New Delhi on September 9, 2026, outlining a sui generis Article 371 model for Ladakh that would create a directly elected UT-level legislature.
- MHA told negotiators the new body would have legislative authority over land, culture and language, forests, environment and natural resources but did not commit to law-and-order powers or control of the police and administration.
- Civil society leaders from the Leh Apex Body and Kargil Democratic Alliance said no written draft was handed over at the meeting and they pressed the government to freeze major administrative changes until statutory safeguards are enacted.
- The Centre reportedly agreed to announce compensation for victims of the September 24, 2025, violence and to withdraw or review several criminal cases against protesters, a demand tied to rebuilding trust in talks.
- Negotiations will continue in early October with civil society pushing for a parliamentary bill in the Winter Session, and the Chapter K route would set a constitutional precedent by applying a tailored Article 371 arrangement to a Union Territory.