SRINAGAR: 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 questions over the cooperative’s registration and functioning.
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 development comes as the Ladakh Administration examines allegations of irregularities and a possible conflict of interest concerning Ramaswamy’s association with the cooperative. The matter has 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. Official records cited by the administration list Ramaswamy and his wife, Abhilasha Bahuguna, among the society’s co-founder members.
The administration has questioned whether the officer had obtained the requisite approval from the competent authority for his association with the cooperative. Since the cooperative’s rules made the Leh deputy commissioner its ex-officio chairman, Ramaswamy also held the chairmanship while serving as DC.
The administration’s preliminary examination has also focused on the cooperative’s receipt of financial assistance. Its audited accounts show grants, donations and contributions of Rs 50.76 lakh in 2022-23, Rs 71.34 lakh in 2023-24 and Rs 44.99 lakh in 2024-25 — totalling about Rs 1.67 crore over the three financial years, officials said.
Separately, records cited by the 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 included plans to establish a 40,000 sq ft 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, besides scrutiny of the cooperative’s membership records, officials said. The administration has also said that the records examined so far do not contain the requisite approval or sanction, if any, for Ramaswamy’s association with the society.
Another issue under examination 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 (industries), while the records examined did not establish that such approval had been granted. The issue 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 cooperative has rejected the allegations, maintaining that it has operated lawfully for about a decade to strengthen Ladakh’s Pashmina sector. It has described itself as a women-owned, democratically governed producer institution working for Pashmina herders and artisans under elected management.
On Ramaswamy’s association, the cooperative said he provided voluntary guidance during its establishment but never held an elected position and withdrew from its affairs after registration. It has also maintained that no adverse or conclusive finding has been recorded against it.
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 and that the Industries Department, UT Ladakh, and the cooperative were subsequently recorded as registered proprietors/applicants.
The cooperative has further said it never claimed that prior departmental approval had been secured and has submitted a detailed response to the procedural concerns raised by the Industries Department. It said the matter remains under consideration and no adverse or conclusive finding has been made against it.
