Only locals in Ladakh to get ‘Resident Certificate’

Order is for the purpose of appointment to all the non-gazetted posts

Women share a laugh as they sit on the street selling their apricots in the main market of Leh, Ladakh. File

The Ladakh administration has decided to issue “Resident Certificate” only to the Permanent Resident Certificate holders of the region, unlike J&K where new domicile laws allowed outsiders too to apply for jobs, land and other facilities.

According to the Ladakh Resident Certificate Order 2021 passed on Saturday, “any person who possesses a Permanent Resident Certificate (PRC) issued by the competent authority in the districts of Leh and Kargil or belongs to a category of persons who would have been eligible to be issued PRC shall be eligible to receive the ‘Resident Certificate’.”

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The order, according to an official spokesman, is “to temporarily define ‘Resident of Union Territory of Ladakh’ for the purpose of appointment to all the non-gazetted posts borne on the establishment of any department or service of administration of Ladakh”.

All the Tehsildars have been authorised competent authority to issue the ‘Resident Certificate’.

Upper age limit enhanced

“The Administration also enhanced the upper age limit for entry into government services against all posts. The upper age limit has been enhanced for the reserved category candidates from 43 years to 45 years, for the general category candidates from 40 to 42 years and for the physically challenged candidates from 42 to 44 years,” the order said.

The age relaxation would be a one-time exception and this relaxation shall remain in force for two years, it said.

Ladakh’s two main amalgams, the Kargil Democratic Alliance and the Leh Apex Body, have been campaigning for Article 370-like special status for the region, which was carved out as a separate UT from J&K on August 5, 2019. It has opposed settlement of outsiders in the region.

The ‘Resident Certificate’ being restricted to locals of the region is unlike J&K. According to the Jammu and Kashmir Grant of Domicile Certificate (Procedure) Rules, 2020 issued on May 18, 2020, different categories of non-locals, including non-local government employees, to register for domicile certificates in J&K after meeting a few criteria.