All seven districts of the Union Territory of Ladakh will soon have autonomous hill development councils, paving the way for elected local self-governance in five newly created districts.
Lieutenant Governor V K Saxena on Thursday approved the establishment of Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Councils (LAHDCs) in all seven districts.
The move follows the Centre’s announcement on July 13 to extend the LAHDC framework to all districts of Ladakh.
With the approval, autonomous hill development councils will be established in Leh, Kargil, Sham, Nubra, Changthang, Zanskar and Drass.
The system of elected local self-governance, which was so far confined to Leh and Kargil, will consequently be extended to the five newly created districts.
Saxena thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah for the decision, saying the establishment of hill development councils across all seven districts would further decentralise governance and strengthen people’s participation in district-level planning and development.
The Lieutenant Governor said the creation of autonomous hill development councils in all seven districts was a milestone in strengthening grassroots governance in Ladakh.
He said the councils would empower people and enable development to be more responsive to local needs and aspirations.
The expansion is expected to provide institutional mechanisms for greater public participation in development and administrative matters concerning the respective districts.
According to a notification issued by the Revenue Department, 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.
The notification will come into force from the date of its publication in the official gazette.
-PTI
