L-G approves autonomous hill development councils in all seven Ladakh districts

Why in News?

Lieutenant Governor V. K. Saxena approved the establishment of Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Councils (LAHDCs) in all seven districts of Ladakh on 3 September.

The move follows the Centre’s July 13 announcement to extend the LAHDC framework to all districts of the Union Territory.

Autonomous Hill Development Councils will now be established in Leh, Kargil, Sham, Nubra, Changthang, Zanskar and Drass. 

Previously, elected Hill Councils existed only in Leh and Kargil. The extension will therefore bring five newly created districts under the elected autonomous council system.

What are LAHDCs?

The Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Councils are institutions of local self-governance designed to enable local communities to participate in planning and development. Their broad objectives include:

• Greater public participation in development.
• Decentralisation of decision-making.
• Preparation of development plans at the grassroots level.
• Greater transparency and accountability.
• Monitoring of developmental works.
• Participation of Councillors, Panches and Sarpanches in local planning.

Legal Basis

• The councils function under the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Councils Act, 1997.
• Elections to the newly constituted councils will be held after formal notification under Section 8 of the Act.
• The framework was originally confined to the Leh and Kargil councils.

Administrative Structure

The Hill Council has an important relationship with the district administration:

• Chief Executive Councillor (CEC): Has the rank and powers of a Cabinet Minister.
• Executive Councillors: Have the rank and status of Deputy Ministers.
• Deputy Commissioner: Also functions as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the LAHDC in the concerned district.
• The district administration remains responsible for execution of works and maintenance of law and order.

Grassroots Planning Mechanism

The LAHDC system follows a bottom-up approach:

Panchayats → Councillors → Hill Council → Block-level review → District administration

Work plans are prepared at the grassroots level by taking local elected representatives into confidence and are subsequently reviewed at Block Headquarters in the presence of the CEC and Executive Councillors.

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