Ladakh's 5 New Districts To Get Elected Councils, Election Process To Begin

Ladakh's five new districts are set to get elected local councils, in a move that will expand the region's grassroots governance beyond Leh and Kargil.

Lieutenant Governor V K Saxena on Thursday approved the notification for the creation of Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Councils (LAHDCs) in all seven districts of the Union Territory.

The five new districts- Sham, Nubra, Zanskar, Drass and Changthang, will now be brought under the LAHDC framework.

The move follows the Centre's decision on July 13 to extend the autonomous hill council system to all seven districts of Ladakh.

5 New Districts, Elected Councils Next

Until now, elected LAHDCs were limited to Leh and Kargil.

With the latest approval, the system will extend to all seven districts: Leh, Kargil, Sham, Nubra, Changthang, Zanskar and Drass.

For residents of the five new districts, this means the process towards having their own elected local councils is now moving ahead.

The councils are intended to give local representatives a greater role in development planning and administration in their respective districts.

The creation of the five new districts earlier this year had already changed Ladakh's administrative map. The extension of LAHDCs now adds an elected local governance structure to those new administrative units.

Election Dates Not Announced Yet

While the election process is set to begin, no election dates have been announced yet.

The Ladakh administration said elections to the newly constituted councils will be held in due course, after a formal notification is issued under Section 8 of the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Councils Act, 1997.

Mr Saxena said in a post on X that with the notification now in place, the process for elections to these councils would begin in due course.

The notification will come into force from the date of its publication in the Official Gazette.

What The Move Means For Ladakh

The expansion means local governance through elected hill councils will no longer be limited to Leh and Kargil.

The administration says the councils will help bring decision-making closer to people and allow local priorities to have a greater role in district-level planning and development.

Mr Saxena called it a "historic day" for Ladakh and said the move would decentralise governance, strengthen local bodies and fulfil the long-standing aspirations of people at the grassroots level.

"The creation of Autonomous Hill Development Councils in all seven districts is a milestone in strengthening grassroots governance in Ladakh," he said.

He added that the move would empower people to chart their own path of progress and inclusive development.

The latest decision comes at a significant point for Ladakh's governance. The Union Territory has no legislative assembly, while elected autonomous hill councils have so far operated in Leh and Kargil.

With LAHDCs now being extended to all seven districts, the next key development will be the formal notification and conduct of elections in the five new councils.