The Union Territory of Ladakh will have autonomous hill development councils in all seven of its districts, the Centre announced on Monday, describing the move as a step towards strengthening grassroots governance and democratic decentralisation.
Addressing a press conference in Leh, Ladakh chief secretary Asish Kundra said Section 3(1) of the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council (LAHDC) Act already provides for the creation of a council in every district, and only minor amendments to the legislation are needed to implement the decision.
“The government has decided that LAHDCs will be constituted in all seven districts and they will have the powers provided under the LAHDC Act,” Kundra said.
Calling the decision “an important step toward democratic decentralisation”, he said the Centre remained committed to strengthening administrative and democratic institutions across the Union Territory.
“Ladakh is a vast territory of nearly 60,000 square kilometres and the central government is committed to strengthening administrative and democratic institutions across this entire region,” he said.
The announcement follows the Centre’s decision in August 2024 to create five new districts — Sham, Nubra and Changthang in Leh, and Zanskar and Drass in Kargil. The new districts were officially notified by Ladakh Lieutenant Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena on April 26, taking the total number of districts in the Union Territory from two to seven.
At present, only Leh and Kargil have elected LAHDCs, established in 1995 and 2003, respectively. Kundra said there had been a longstanding demand from the newly created districts for autonomous hill councils.
UT-level legislative body under discussion
On the proposed Union Territory-level legislative body for Ladakh, Kundra said discussions with the Centre are ongoing and that constitutional amendments would be required to define its powers and functions.
Referring to meetings between Ladakhi representatives and the Union home ministry in New Delhi on May 22 and Leh on July 3, he said the discussions had outlined a proposed “customised model for Ladakh.”
“This means the model will be unique and not identical to any arrangement elsewhere in the country. The best features from other models will be adapted and given a new form suited to Ladakh’s needs and aspirations,” he said.
Kundra added that representatives of Ladakh and officials from the central government would meet in the coming weeks to prepare a draft framework for a new governance arrangement under Article 371.
“Under this framework, a new arrangement for Ladakh under Article 371 will be developed and the proposed UT-level body will be given a concrete shape,” he said.
According to Kundra, there is broad agreement at the conceptual level that the proposed UT-level body will be vested with legislative, executive, financial and administrative powers.
