Srinagar, Oct 19: The Centre has amended the legal terminology, administrative structure and electoral provisions governing the Autonomous Hill Development Councils in Ladakh to align them with the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019, which led to the creation of the Union Territory of Ladakh.
Under the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Councils (Amendment) Regulation, the number of elected seats in each council will be determined by the Ladakh administration, with a minimum of seven and a maximum of 24 seats. The administration can nominate up to four members from among women and non-represented communities, subject to the one-sixth limit of the population, the regulation states.
The sitting Lok Sabha member representing Ladakh will be an ex-officio member of the councils constituted for each district. Each council will have a term of five years from the date appointed for its first meeting, unless dissolved earlier. The term can be extended if holding elections is considered impracticable.
The regulation also replaces references to the state and governor with the Union Territory of Ladakh and Administrator, respectively. It provides that the State Election Commission for the Union Territory of Ladakh will have the superintendence, direction and control over council elections and electoral rolls. Election disputes can be taken directly to the High Court of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh through election petitions filed within 45 days of the declaration of results.
The regulation defines the district areas covered under the Act to include Leh, Sham, Nubra, Changthang, Kargil, Zanskar and Drass, along with any newly created districts. The councils will have the powers of panchayats at the district level and will be deemed to be district-level panchayats for exercising powers and performing functions under the Jammu and Kashmir Panchayati Raj Act, 1989.
Meanwhile, the Kargil Democratic Alliance (KDA), one of the two bodies engaged in talks with the central government on Ladakh’s demands, has objected to the government’s recent decision to amend the legal terminology, administrative structure and electoral provisions governing the Autonomous Hill Development Councils in the Union Territory.
KDA co-chairman Sajad Hussain Kargili termed the development as deeply problematic amid the ongoing talks between Ladakh leaders and the Ministry of Home Affairs.
“At a time when talks are ongoing to negotiate a settlement for Ladakh, including demands for constitutional status and stronger protections for the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council (LAHDCs), it is deeply problematic that the government has chosen to make substantial changes to the composition, powers and functioning of these Councils without consulting the people and stakeholders of Ladakh,” Sajad Kargili, co-chairman of KDA, wrote on X.
“These changes directly affect the institutions through which local self-government is exercised, making consultation especially important when the future of Ladakh’s political and constitutional arrangements remains under discussion,” he said, adding, “The government is effectively changing the institutional framework that these negotiations are meant to address, while giving the Union Territory administration greater control over the composition and functioning of the Councils.”
“This raises serious questions about the government’s commitment to the ongoing dialogue and whether the eventual settlement will secure meaningful autonomy for Ladakh or leave its representative institutions subject to executive discretion,” Kargili said.
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