Examiner Bureau | Leh:
IAS officer Prasanna Ramaswamy has been removed as chairman of the governing body of the Looms of Ladakh Women Cooperative Ltd, nearly two months after his transfer from Jammu and Kashmir to Lakshadweep, amid a preliminary examination into the cooperative’s registration, functioning and alleged conflict-of-interest concerns.
Leh Deputy Commissioner Romil Singh Donk will take over as chairman in accordance with the cooperative’s Articles of Association, which provide for the deputy commissioner to serve as its ex-officio chairman, officials said.
The Ladakh Administration is examining allegations concerning Ramaswamy’s association with the cooperative, including whether he had obtained the requisite approval from the competent authority. The matter has also been referred to the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) for examination and appropriate action.
Ramaswamy, a 2010-batch IAS officer, served as Registrar of Cooperative Societies and Deputy Commissioner, Leh, between 2015 and 2017, when the cooperative was registered. Records cited by the administration list Ramaswamy and his wife, Abhilasha Bahuguna, among the society’s co-founder members.
Since the cooperative’s Articles of Association made the Leh deputy commissioner its ex-officio chairman, Ramaswamy also held the chairmanship while serving as DC.
The preliminary examination has also focused on the cooperative’s receipt of financial assistance. According to its audited accounts, the cooperative received grants, donations and contributions amounting to Rs 50.76 lakh in 2022-23, Rs 71.34 lakh in 2023-24 and Rs 44.99 lakh in 2024-25, totalling around Rs 1.67 crore over the three financial years, officials said.
Separately, records cited by officials and attributed to NABARD show that Rs 107.50 lakh was sanctioned as grant assistance under a project titled “Strengthening and Broad-basing Pashmina and Wool Value Chain in Leh”. The project envisaged the establishment of a 40,000-square-foot Work Studio and Training Centre at Chushul in Leh.
The preliminary review has proposed verification of whether Ramaswamy or his spouse received any dividend or other financial benefit from the cooperative. The administration is also scrutinising membership records and has said the documents examined so far do not contain the requisite approval or sanction, if any, for Ramaswamy’s association with the society.
Another issue under scrutiny relates to the cooperative’s application for Geographical Indication (GI) registration for Ladakh Pashmina Textiles.
The preliminary review found that the original application referred to approval from the director of industries, while the records examined by the administration did not establish that such approval had been granted. The matter has been referred to higher authorities for examination.
Ramaswamy, who had been serving as Commissioner Secretary of the Tribal Affairs Department in the J&K Government since June 2024, was transferred to Lakshadweep by the MHA on August 12.
The Looms of Ladakh Women Cooperative has rejected the allegations, maintaining that it has operated lawfully for nearly a decade to strengthen the region’s Pashmina sector. It describes itself as a women-owned and democratically governed producer institution working with Pashmina herders and artisans under elected management.
On Ramaswamy’s association, the cooperative said he had provided voluntary guidance during its establishment but never held an elected position and withdrew from its affairs after its registration. It also maintained that no adverse or conclusive finding had been recorded against the cooperative.
Regarding the GI application, the cooperative said the “Ladakh Pashmina” application in Classes 24 and 25 was initiated through the Ministry of Textiles with support from the Handloom Export Promotion Council. It said it submitted the required affidavit and technical documents to the GI Registry, following which the Industries Department, UT Ladakh, and the cooperative were recorded as registered proprietors/applicants.
The cooperative further said it had never claimed that prior departmental approval had been secured and had submitted a detailed response to the procedural concerns raised by the Industries Department. It maintained that the matter remains under consideration and that no adverse or conclusive finding has been made against it.
