How new tehsils, districts for Ladakh address political aspirations? | Explained

The story so far: Ladakh, which was carved out as a Union Territory (UT) without a legislature from the erstwhile State of J&K in 2019, is set to extend the benefits of the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council (LAHDC) Act to all seven newly created districts through appropriate legal provisions. Besides, 17 newly created tehsils have been notified, taking the total tehsils in the cold desert region to 32. Till 2019, Ladakh comprised only two districts of Leh and Kargil. In April this year, five new districts of Sham, Nubra, Changthang, Zanskar and Drass were notified.

What is LAHDC Act?

Introduced in 1997, the Act envisages an elected council on the lines of the legislative councils in the States in the country. The Act said each Council will have locals chosen by direct election on the basis of voting for 26 seats. The administration is empowered to nominate not more than four persons, from religious minorities and women. The Council under the Act has executive powers to decide on use of land, formulation of development programmes, review of developmental plans and schemes, formulation and finalisation of the Budget (Plan and Non-Plan) etc. These councils also had powers to collect taxes, establish toll bars, tax on boards, pilgrim tax, hawkers and pheriwalas tax etc. Once implemented, the LAHDC Act will provide an elected body in all the districts, which can micro manage the local governance issues with a sense of local participation.

What is the need for new districts and tehsils?

The Ladakh administration, headed by Lieutenant Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena, pushed the fresh measures like new districts and tehsils as part of the administrative reforms, which are aimed at strengthening grassroots governance. It argued that these initiatives would bring government services closer to the people, reduce travel for citizens living in remote villages and strengthen infrastructure and development across regions, especially remote districts of Zanskar, Drass, Nubra, Changthang and Sham. Ladakh is spread over 59,146 square kilometers with a sparse population of only 2.74 lakh population, as per the 2011 census. Each district is hundreds of kilometres away from each other and locals reside in high-altitude locations, up to 16,000 feet high, posing a challenge to the governance model. Each district in Ladakh has unique issues. Ladakh is home to two communities, which include Shia Muslims and Buddhists. According to the 2011 census, Ladakh has a total population of 2.74 lakh, of which 46% are Muslims, and 39% are Buddhists. However, KDA leader Sajjad Kargili voices concern over distribution of districts as well as tehils, alleging bias in favour of Buddhists. He said the erstwhile Leh district was allotted 12 new tehsils against five in the erstwhile Kargil district. The KDA also expressed concern over having only two Muslim-majority districts against five Buddhist-majority districts in the region.

Why is the Centre rolling out new measures to Ladakh?

Ladakh saw major street protests in the past five years. Locals expressed concern over outsiders settling in Ladakh and diluting its culture, language and straining land in violation of environmental norms. Two major socio-religious groupings, Leh Apex Body (LAB) and Kargil Democratic Alliance (KDA) spearheaded a major campaign for Statehood status and inclusion in the Sixth Schedule list. Besides these civil society groups, climate activist and innovator Sonam Wangchuk also held protests over these demands. In September 2025, violent street protests broke out over these demands. Four civilians were left dead and around 90 injured in the violence. Later, Wangchuk, who was on a hunger strike, was also arrested. The unrest forced the Ministry of Home Affairs’ sub‑committee of the high-powered committee, comprising representatives of the Union Home ministry and Ladakh’s LAB and KDA, to speed up talks.

What is the status of Centre-Ladakh talks?

The talks between the MHA officials and Ladakh representatives witnessed a major breakthrough on May 22 this year. The talks resulted into a jointly agreed draft, highlighting the broad consensus on protecting Ladakh’s land, culture and identity while promoting inclusive development. It called for a customised sui generis model, which is most suitable for Ladakh, would be adopted under the provisions of Article 371. The agreed draft envisaged a model of Constitutional safeguards by invoking Article 371(A to J). It covered the powers and functions, executive financial and legislative, of this UT level elected body in harmonious relations with the Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs). It will be followed by the Transaction of Business Rules to be discussed in coming months. The MHA draft also accepted that the next step would be to further empower the Union Territory through a democratic institutional framework that provides a political voice and unanimously decided that, while Statehood would remain the long-term aspiration of Ladakh, in the present situation, an appropriate customized model of governance will be established with a UT-level elected body with executive financial and legislative powers.