President announces LAHDC ordinance, paves way for hill council polls in all eight districts of Ladakh

Ladakh Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena. File | Photo credit: ANI

Ladakh is all set to hold elections to eight hill councils for eight districts as President Droupadi Murmu promulgated the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council (LAHDC) (Amendment) Ordinance, 2026, Lieutenant Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena said on Tuesday (October 20, 2026).

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Calling it a “historic ordinance”, Mr. Saxena said, “It was implemented in a record time of just six days and now paves the way for the creation of LAHDC in all the eight districts of Ladakh, including the newly created Sankoo district. The Union Cabinet approved the amendments on October 14, followed by their promulgation by the Honorable President on October 16.”

Participatory management

Clarifying the composition of the council, Saxena said the amended ordinance rationalizes the number of constituencies from the earlier 26 seats in each council to a minimum of seven seats and now a maximum of 24 seats. “It also envisages nomination of four members from ‘women’ and ‘underrepresented communities’ for greater participation of people in local governance,” said Mr. Saxena.

The governor thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah for this “landmark ordinance that will strengthen people’s democracy, strengthen local representation and promote inclusiveness”.

Ladakh was carved out as a Union Territory in 2019 from the Kashmir division of the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir. Before 2019, Ladakh had only two high councils, one in the predominantly Muslim Kargil district and the other in the Buddhist Leh district. However, the LG administration created eight districts this year.

Currently, LAHDC-Kargil remains in place, holding elections in 2023. However, Chief Executive Council (CEC) Mohammad Jaffer Akhoon has recently hinted that he should step down from the post.

Questions about timing

Meanwhile, the Kargil Democratic Alliance (KDA), one of the key civil society bodies that has been in dialogue with the Center over statehood demands and the Sixth Plan, has questioned the timing of the LAHDC changes.

“At a time when talks are underway to negotiate a settlement for Ladakh, including demands for constitutional status and stronger protection for the LAHDC, it is deeply problematic that the government has decided to make substantial changes to the composition, powers and functioning of these councils without consulting the people and stakeholders of Ladakh,” said KDA member Sajjad Kargilli.

He expressed concern over the changes, saying they “directly affect the institutions through which local governance is exercised, so consultation is particularly important as the future of Ladakh’s political and constitutional set-up is still being debated”.

He said the government was effectively changing the institutional framework to address these negotiations, while giving the Union Territory Administration more control over the composition and functioning of the councils.

“This raises serious questions about the government’s commitment to continued dialogue and whether any settlement will provide Ladakh with meaningful autonomy or leave its representative institutions to executive discretion,” Mr Kargilli said.

Published – 20 Oct 2026 19:53 IST