DCs, SSPs to be posted by MHA from AGMUT cadre
Infra, subordinate staff likely to take time
Sanjeev Pargal
JAMMU, Nov 5: The Ladakh administration has written to the Union Ministry of Finance for creation of posts for five new districts which were approved by the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) in August 2024 but haven’t been formally created so far which also resulted into postponement of Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council (LAHDC) Leh elections scheduled last month.
Follow the Daily Excelsior channel on WhatsApp
Officials told the Excelsior that the UT administration of Ladakh has written to the Finance Ministry headed by Nirmala Sitharaman seeking sanction of posts for five new districts including Sham, Nubra, Changthang, Zanskar and Drass. First three districts were created out of Leh while two others were carved out of Kargil.
The new districts were created on August 26, 2024 and subsequently the UT administration set up a Committee to identify boundaries of new districts, creation of posts, their headquarters, infrastructure and other requirements. The Panel has since submitted its report. The administration had then set up another Committee to study report of the Panel.
“Once the posts are approved by the Union Finance Ministry, the process for creation of five new administrative units which will take up number of total districts in Ladakh to seven, will be expedited,” the officials said, adding the Finance Ministry’s concurrence for new posts is necessary as number of posts will be quite high which will lead to jump in the UT’s salary budget.
Moreover, they pointed out, new districts will have new Deputy Commissioners, SSPs, various other senior officers and their subordinate staff. The officers for postings as the DCs and SSPs have to be deputed by the MHA while most of other posts are required to be created for the new districts to function properly.
The UT has only two districts-Leh and Kargil and once five new districts are formally created, it will take number of districts in Ladakh to seven.
Officials, however, admitted that making new districts fully functional can be delayed as it will require ample time to create infrastructure like offices of the DCs and SSPs at the district headquarters and other staff. While senior officers can be posted directly from the AGMUT cadre besides Jammu and Kashmir Administrative Services (JKAS) and Jammu and Kashmir Police Services (JKPS), the subordinate staff needs fresh recruitment.
While deferring election to Leh Hill Development Council recently, the UT of Ladakh administration cited creation of five new districts as among the reasons behind the delay.
The officials said only when boundaries of new districts are identified and infrastructure and staff are in place, a decision can be taken as to whether there will be seven Hill Councils in the Union Territory as some new mechanism will be in place.
Headquarters of new districts have not been made public but will be announced when the administrative units are formally created,” the officials said, adding the people of Ladakh are now eagerly awaiting formal announcement of new districts as it was on August 26, 2024 that the administrative units were announced.
Sources admitted that it may not be possible to grant seven Hill Councils to Ladakh taking into account the very less number of population and voters in each district. There were 1.84 lakh voters in Ladakh during 2024 Parliamentary polls.
Presently, the two districts of Leh and Kargil have the Hill Development Councils with 30 Councilors each-26 of whom were elected while four others are nominated by the UT administration. Each Council has a Chairman and four Executive Councilors.
Elections to Leh Autonomous Hill Development Council were due in October but have been postponed with powers of the Council given to the Deputy Commissioner Leh. The BJP was in power for two consecutive terms in Leh Council.
Follow our WhatsApp channel
