Ladakh to set up autonomous hill councils in all 7 districts

In a landmark administrative reform, Lieutenant Governor, Vinai Kumar Saxena, has approved a comprehensive reorganisation and rationalisation of Tehsils and Revenue Villages, following the creation of five new districts in the Union Territory of Ladakh.  Under this reorganisation, 17 new Tehsils have been created in Ladakh, taking the total number of Tehsils to 32, from the existing 15. This exercise aims at operationalising the new districts, while bringing public services to the doorsteps of the people, thereby, strengthening governance at the grassroots. The new Tehsils have been created on the recommendations of a UT-Level Committee constituted by the LG, following the notification of the new districts on April 27 this year. Ladakh chief secretary Asish Kundra said at a presser in Leh that section 3(1) of the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council (LAHDC) Act already provides for a council in every district, and only some minor amendments to the legislation would be required. “Ladakh is a vast territory of about 60,000 square km and the central govt is committed to strengthening administrative and democratic institutions across this entire region,” the chief secretary added.

#WATCH | Leh, Ladakh: On major administrative reforms, Chief Secretary, Ladakh, Ashish Kundra says, “...Today, the Lieutenant Governor decided to establish dedicated engineering wings for the PWD, Rural Works, and PHE departments in every district; this has been announced, and… pic.twitter.com/bgXzYiiVs2

— ANI (@ANI) July 13, 2026

In Aug 2024, the Centre had approved five new Ladakh districts — Sham, Nubra and Changthang in Leh, and Zanskar and Drass in Kargil. Ladakh LG Vinai Kumar Saxena notified them on April 26 this year, taking the number of districts to seven. Currently, only Leh and Kargil have LAHDCs, set up in 1995 and 2003, respectively.