Leh, J & K : Lieutenant Governor of Ladakh Vinai Kumar Saxena has approved a notification constituting Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Councils (LAHDCs) in all seven districts of the Union Territory, expanding the elected hill council system beyond Leh and Kargil.

According to the notification issued by the Revenue Department, councils have been constituted for Leh, Kargil, Sham, Nubra, Changthang, Zanskar and Drass under the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Councils Act, 1997, as amended from time to time.

Until now elected Autonomous Hill Development Councils existed only in Leh and Kargil. With the latest order, the newly created districts will also have councils exercising the powers and performing the functions assigned under the 1997 Act.

The notification states that elections to these councils will be held in due course after a separate notification is issued under Section 8 of the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Councils Act, 1997.

The order has been issued in exercise of the powers conferred under Section 3(1) of the Act and will come into force from the date of its publication in the Official Gazette.

The move is expected to strengthen local governance, decentralisation and grassroots participation across Ladakh’s newly established districts by extending the statutory hill council framework to these areas.

Report By – Mudasir Maqbool

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