LG Approves Formation Of Autonomous Hill Development Councils In All Ladakh Districts

Leh/Jammu, Sep 3: Seven districts of the Union Territory of Ladakh will soon get autonomous hill development councils, paving the way for elected local self-governance in five newly-created districts, officials said.

Lt Governor VK Saxena on Thursday approved creation of Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council (LAHDC) in all seven districts.

The move follows the Centre's July 13 announcement to extend the LAHDC framework to all districts of Ladakh.

With the approval, LAHDCs will now be established in Leh, Kargil, Sham, Nubra, Changthang, Zanskar and Drass. The system of elected local self-governance, hitherto confined to Leh and Kargil, will consequently be extended to the five new districts, officials said.

L-G Saxena thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah for the decision, saying establishment of seven hill development councils would further decentralise governance and strengthen people's participation in district-level planning and development.

"The creation of autonomous hill development councils in all seven districts is a milestone in strengthening grassroots governance in Ladakh. This will empower people and enable development to be more responsive to local needs and aspirations," the L-G said.

The development is expected to provide institutional mechanisms for greater participation of people in matters relating to development and administration of their respective districts.

According to the 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.