Srinagar, Sep 03 (KNO): In a significant move, the Lieutenant Governor of the Union Territory of Ladakh on Wednesday established seven Autonomous Hill Development Councils for the Union Territory.
Close on the heels of the creation of five new districts in Ladakh, taking the total to seven, the LG constituted one Hill Development Council for each district.
According to a notification issued by the Administration of Ladakh, a copy of which is in possession of news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO), the Councils are as follows: Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council, Leh for the District of Leh; Hill Development Council, Kargil for the district of Kargil; Hill Development Council, Sham for the district of Sham; Hill Development Council, Nubra for the district of Nubra; Hill Development Council, Changthang for the district of Changthang; Hill Development Council, Zanskar for the district of Zanskar; and Hill Development Council, Drass for the district of Drass.
While the term of the Hill Council in Leh ended on October 30, 2025, the Hill Council in Kargil still had more than two years left in its five-year tenure.
Sources in the administration of Ladakh told KNO that the term of the Hill Council Kargil has automatically ended, as the latest notification supersedes all previous notifications regarding the constitution of Hill Development Councils in Ladakh.
“In exercise of the powers conferred by sub-section (1) of Section 3 of the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Councils Act, 1997 (Act No. XXXI of 1997), as amended from time to time and in supersession of all previous notifications in this regard, the Lieutenant Governor of the Union Territory of Ladakh hereby constitutes the following Autonomous Hill Development Councils for the respective districts of the Union Territory of Ladakh for the purposes specified under the said Act…,” reads the notification.
There was no official statement from the Ladakh administration regarding the remaining term of the Hill Council Kargil, whose tenure was scheduled to end in October 2028.
As per the notification, the seven Councils shall exercise such powers and perform such functions as are conferred or assigned to them under the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Councils Act, 1997.
It adds that elections to these Councils shall be held in due course, following the issuance of a notification under Section 8 of the Act, which ensures that Hill Councils are regularly reconstituted through elections - either before the term expires or within six months if dissolved early.
The new Councils have been established at a time when the Apex Body Leh and the Kargil Democratic Alliance are engaged in talks with the Union Government over various political and constitutional issues—(KNO)