Ladakh Lieutenant Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena (file photo)
| Photo Credit:
ANI
Ladakh has approved the creation of Autonomous Hill Development Councils (LAHDCs) in all seven districts of the Union Territory, a move aimed at strengthening local governance and paving the way for elections to the councils, Lieutenant Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena said on Thursday.
Saxena said he had approved the notification to extend LAHDCs to all seven districts, describing the decision as a step towards decentralising governance and giving greater autonomy to local bodies.
“With the notification in place, the process for elections to these councils shall begin in due course,” Saxena said in a post on X.
The decision follows the creation of five new districts in Ladakh — Sham, Nubra, Zanskar, Drass and Changthang — earlier this year. The Centre subsequently decided on July 13 to extend the LAHDC system to all seven districts of the Union Territory.
The five new districts were created to improve administration and bring government services closer to people in remote areas of the strategically important Himalayan region.
On April 27, Saxena approved the creation of five new districts, bringing Ladakh’s total to seven, up from two — Leh and Kargil.
The LAHDCs are elected local bodies responsible for planning and development in their respective areas. Ladakh currently has autonomous hill development councils in Leh and Kargil.
The extension of the council system to the newly created districts is expected to give local communities a greater role in decisions relating to development and administration.
Saxena credited Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah for the move, saying it would empower Ladakh’s people to shape the region’s development at the grassroots level.
“I am confident the change would empower Ladakh and its people to chart its own path of progress and inclusive development,” he said.
Ladakh became a Union Territory in 2019 following the bifurcation of the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir into the Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh.
Spread across more than 59,000 square km, Ladakh is India's largest Union Territory by area. Its vast, sparsely populated terrain includes some of the country’s most remote settlements and borders China and Pakistan.
The creation of the new districts and expansion of the LAHDC system come amid demands for greater political representation and administrative decentralisation in Ladakh.
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