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
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.
The BriefWire