The Union Territory of Ladakh is set to get one hill council for all its seven districts and a union-level body as Union Territory Chief Secretary Ashish Kundra announced on Monday. Kundra described the move as a major step towards strengthening popular governance and balanced development across the region.
While Ladakh had two districts earlier, five more districts were formed in April 2026. The new districts in Ladakh are Cham, Nubra, Changthang, Zanskar and Drass. Elected representation has so far remained in the two existing assemblies, one in Leh and Kargil.
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“The Ladakh administration has decided to form an autonomous Hill Development Council in each of the seven districts. It is a big step towards democratic decentralization and people’s governance,” Kundra was quoted as saying by PTI.
He said Section 3(1) of the Ladakh Autonomous Hills Development Council (LAHDC) Act already provides for the formation of a council for each district, with effect from a date notified by the government in the Official Gazette. Only amendments to the law, where necessary, and the definition of electoral districts remain.
The official said it has been proposed to set up a UT-level umbrella body over the seven boards under the ad hoc Article 371 framework, with legislative, executive, financial and administrative powers.
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The Chief Secretary said the model was unparalleled anywhere else in the country and would build on the best features of other arrangements.
This comes seven years after the abrogation of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir which ended the special provisions for the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir and also paved the way for bifurcation into two union territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh.
Article 371 is a provision of the Constitution that gives special guarantees and autonomy to some states and regions to protect their cultural identity, land rights, local employment and administrative systems.
This was among the main demands of activist Sonam Wangchuk, who spent nearly six months in prison after protests in Utah Hill last year over the restoration of statehood. In May, Wangchuk expressed hope in proposing to give constitutional safeguards to Ladakh under Article 371. Representatives of the Leh Apex Body (LAB) and the Kargil Democratic Alliance (KDA) held talks with the Union government, and Wangchuk said they had reached a “principled understanding” on enacting special constitutional safeguards in the region.
