Ladakh unveils Article 371 roadmap, to set up Hill Councils in all 7 districts
Ladakh will set up an Autonomous Hill Development Council in each of its seven districts. The move is expected to deepen local self-governance and widen public participation.
The Union Territory Administration announced that an Autonomous Hill Development Council will be set up in each of Ladakh’s seven districts, extending the existing system of elected local self-governance beyond Leh and Kargil.
Announcing the decision, Chief Secretary Ashish Kundra said a proposed Union Territory-level body under a customised Article 371 framework would preside over the seven Hill Councils. He said it would have legislative, executive, financial and administrative powers, in what was described as a first-of-its-kind governance model tailored for Ladakh.
Ladakh moved from two districts to seven in April 2026, when Sham, Nubra, Changthang, Zanskar and Drass were notified as new districts. Until now, elected representation remained limited to the two existing councils in Leh and Kargil.
BJP leader Tashi Gyalson on Monday praised the extension of the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council framework to all seven districts of the Union Territory, calling it a “historic milestone”. The BJP said the decision would strengthen grassroots democracy and ensure greater public participation in decision-making.
Gyalson, a former chairman-cum-chief executive councillor of the LAHDC Leh, thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah for the move.
“The announcement fulfils a long-standing aspiration of the people for local self-governance. After the creation of the Union Territory in August 2019, the grant of domicile provisions and the formation of new districts, the extension of the LAHDC Act to all districts marks another historic milestone in Ladakh’s administrative and democratic evolution,” Gyalson said.
He also welcomed the creation of 17 new tehsils, saying it would strengthen grassroots governance by bringing the administration closer to the people. Gyalson further welcomed the setting up of engineering wings and departmental divisions in all newly created districts, saying this would improve development planning and ensure quicker execution of public works.
He said the LAHDC model had proved more effective and flexible than the earlier Autonomous District Council model and was best suited to Ladakh’s geographical and administrative needs. Overall, he said, giving every district an LAHDC would strengthen local governance and widen public participation in decision-making.