Ladakh To Get Hill Councils For All 7 Districts In Local Governance Push

In a landmark move to deepen democratic decentralisation in Ladakh, the Union Territory administration on Monday announced an Autonomous Hill Development Council (AHDC) for each of its seven districts, extending the existing framework of elected local self-governance beyond Leh and Kargil.Announcing the decision, Chief Secretary Ashish Kundra also said the proposed Union Territory-level body under a customised Article 371 framework would sit above the seven Hill Councils, exercising legislative, executive, financial and administrative powers - 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. Elected representation until now has stayed with the two existing Councils in Leh and Kargil."The Ladakh Administration has decided to constitute an Autonomous Hill Development Council in each of the seven districts.