SRINAGAR: The Union Territory of Ladakh will now have a hill development council in all seven districts, govt announced Monday, stressing that the move was aimed at strengthening grassroots governance.Ladakh chief secretary Asish Kundra said at a presser in Leh that section 3(1) of the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council (LAHDC) Act already provides for a council in every district, and only some minor amendments to the legislation would be required.“The govt has decided that LAHDCs will be constituted in all seven districts and they will have the powers provided under the LAHDC Act,” he said, describing the decision as “an important step toward democratic decentralisation”.“Ladakh is a vast territory of about 60,000 square km and the central govt is committed to strengthening administrative and democratic institutions across this entire region,” the chief secretary added.In Aug 2024, the Centre had approved five new Ladakh districts — Sham, Nubra and Changthang in Leh, and Zanskar and Drass in Kargil. Ladakh LG Vinai Kumar Saxena notified them on April 26 this year, taking the number of districts to seven.Currently, only Leh and Kargil have LAHDCs, set up in 1995 and 2003, respectively. Kundra said there was a strong demand from the five new districts for autonomous district councils.About the proposed UT-level legislative body, the chief secretary said it was still under discussion, and it would require constitutional changes for its powers and functions to be defined.However, he referred to the meetings between Ladakhi representatives and Union home ministry, held in New Delhi on May 22 and in Leh on July 3, saying the minutes released after the discussions 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 added.Kundra further said that in the coming weeks, the representatives from Ladakh and central govt officials “will sit together to prepare a draft framework” under which “a new arrangement for Ladakh under Article 371 will be developed and the proposed UT-level body will be given a concrete shape”.“At the conceptual level, it has been agreed that the UT-level body will have legislative, executive, financial and administrative powers,” he said.
