Autonomous High Councils will be extended to all the seven districts in Ladakh

Ladakh Chief Secretary Ashish Kundra. | Photo credit: ANI

The Ladakh administration on Monday (July 13, 2026) announced 17 new tehsils “to strengthen local governance” in the Union Territory and said the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council (LAHDC) Act would be extended to all seven districts of the region.

“The administration is working on an institutional framework suitable for the unique requirements of Ladakh and is also taking steps to extend the benefits of the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council (LAHDC) Act to all the seven newly created districts through relevant legal provisions,” said Ladakh Chief Secretary Ashish Kundra.

Earlier, Ladakh had only two districts, Leh and Kargil. However, five new districts of Sham, Nubra, Changthang, Zanskar and Drass were announced in April this year. With 17 more tehsils, Ladakh now has a total of 32 tehsils.

Closer to the people

“These initiatives would bring government services closer to the people, reduce travel for citizens living in remote villages and boost infrastructure and development across regions including Zanskar, Drass, Nubra, Changthang and Sham,” Mr Kundra said.

He said the administration has issued posting orders for tehsildars in 17 newly created tehsils. “Four new divisions under Public Health (PHE) and Flood Control Departments along with five new divisions under Public Works Department (PWD) and PMGSY have been created to strengthen service delivery in remote areas,” he added.

A senior bureaucrat said significant progress has been made in recruitment of government workers, decentralized governance and ongoing discussions on constitutional guarantees for Ladakh.

On the issue of constitutional guarantees, Mr. Kundra said that there were several rounds of discussions with representatives of religious organizations and civil society bodies.

“The minutes of the meetings held on May 22 and July 3 have been shared publicly to ensure transparency. There is a broad consensus to protect Ladakh’s land, culture and identity while promoting inclusive development,” Mr. Kundra said.

In July, a proposal shared by a Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) team in Leh suggested that the Center is considering a customized sui generis model, best suited for Ladakh, under the provisions of Article 371 for the Union Territory of Ladakh.

Blatant Imbalance: KDA

Meanwhile, Kargil-based civil society organization Kargil Democratic Alliance (KDA) said the tehsil figures “reveal a glaring imbalance”.

“While 12 new tehsils were allotted to erstwhile Leh district, only five were allotted to erstwhile Kargil district,” said KDA leader Sajjad Kargili.

He said this disparity is difficult to reconcile with objective parameters. “Kargil has a larger population and a larger number of villages than the other five newly created districts combined. Yet its administrative needs seem to have been overlooked. Even more remarkable is the fact that Drass has not been given a single additional tehsil, despite its sizeable population, large number of villages and genuine administrative requirements,” Mr. Kargili said.

He said there were cases where a new tehsil was created for a single village. “It has raised serious questions about the criteria adopted for this exercise. It also shows the absence of sense of justice on the part of the administration and also shows the discriminatory attitude towards the people of Kargil and Drass,” he added.

Ladakh was carved out as a Union Territory from the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir in 2019.

Published – 13 Jul 2026 20:09 IST