Ladakh gets divisional status

Ladakh gets divisional status

1. Jammu and Kashmir Government has approved divisional status to Ladakh, which was part of the Kashmir division till now.
2. The division of Ladakh, comprising of Leh and Kargil Districts, would be provided with a) separate administrative and revenue division with its headquarters at Leh, b) Divisional Commissioner, c) Inspector General of Police and d) other divisional level heads of various departments.
3. With a separate administrative division for Ladakh region, the state of Jammu& Kashmir would now have three administrative divisions- Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh.
4. There have been persistent demands for a separate division by the people of Ladakh due to a) remoteness and inaccessibility due to peculiar geo-climatic and topographic conditions, b) distance from the capital Srinagar making conduct of administrative affairs tough, c) poor delivery of developmental schemes, d) poor redressal of public grievances and e) distinct culture from the Kashmir valley.
5. In 2018, the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Councils (LAHDC) of Leh and Kargil had unanimously passed a resolution demanding divisional status for Ladakh.
6. LAHDCs, which is vested with powers of local governance in Leh and Kargil, was established by the enactment of Jammu and Kashmir Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council Act, 1997 (amended in 2018).