The erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir consisting of Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh was a state of India with a special status as per the Indian constitution. The provision gave the state of Jammu and Kashmir autonomy from the State with respect to governance except in the case of military, communications and international relations. After the removal of Article 370 and 35A in 2019 the union territory of Ladakh was formed. As a result of this change, there was a major shift in power from the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir to Central Government. The central government can now govern Ladakh directly and all the union laws are applicable in the landscape, which was not the case previously. In the case of Ladakh tourism contributed to 50% of its annual GDP making it the most important sector of development in the region. Our study aims to understand how the Centre plans to develop tourism in Ladakh. The study shows that the tourism policies passed by the Centre after the removal of Article 370 and 35A are largely focused on the various aspects of development (transport infrastructure, marketing, advertising, training and capacity building and setting up institutions) with sustainable development as a means to make these development projects less damaging to the environment. Environment is largely represented as sustainable development and environmental issues. It is discussed as a standard to be met for successful tourism or something that needs to be protected or not disturbed. We also present an overview of tourism policies at international, national, and regional levels along with a stakeholder list for the tourism sector of Ladakh UT. Overall, this work can be considered a case study of how a change in a single provision which did not directly relate or consider the environment can indeed have environmental consequences which are often not talked about but are crucial.