The newly appointed member of the National Commission for Minorities (NCM), Government of India from UT Ladakh, Rinchen Lhamo chaired a meeting with the heads of different religious organisations  on January 7 at DC Conference Hall.

Rinchen Lhamo highlighted the role of the Commission in resolving the issues of minorities and the various schemes which are applicable for the minorities. She added that the schemes of the Commission should be widely propagated in the UT and that religious organisations could play a vital role in making the public aware of the schemes and their benefits. Further, she urged the heads of religious organisations to share their feedback and suggestions which she ensured to carry forward to the central government.

During the meeting, the heads of the various religious organisations unanimously presented several key issues pertaining to UT Ladakh, such as demand for constitutional safeguards, employment and land protection.

On behalf of all the religious organisations, Vice President, Ladakh Buddhist Association, Tsering Dorjay Lakrook shared that recruitment up to divisional cadre should be made by the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Councils (LAHDC) as the LAHDC Act has provision for such recruitment and could form a divisional cadre recruitment board. He also highlighted the land protection issue and the need of taking the consensus of LAHDCs and stakeholders while allotting lands for developmental purposes.

The heads of religious organisations also took up the issue of lack of awareness among the public regarding the schemes of the Commission and urged its member Rinchen Lhamo and the District and UT Administration to widely publicise it among the people, in which they would also cooperate.

Rinchen Lhamo shared that awareness is of prime importance in availing the benefits of various schemes and added that it should be implemented at the ground level. She also said that the Commission would take initiatives to make the public aware of the schemes and the role of the NCM in redressing the grievances of the minorities. 

  The heads of religious organisations, such as Ladakh Buddhist Association, Anjuman Imamia Leh, Anjuman Moin-ul-Islam, Leh, Christian Community and Hindu Mahasabha; Additional Deputy Commissioner, Leh and Chief Planning Officer, Leh attended the meeting.