LEH: Lieutenant Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena has approved the creation of 17 new tehsils in Ladakh as part of a major administrative reorganisation to operationalise the Union Territory’s five newly created districts.
With the latest decision, the number of tehsils in Ladakh has increased from 15 to 32, with 17 niabats upgraded to tehsils, according to an official statement.
The reorganisation follows the notification of five new districts on April 27 and is based on the recommendations of a Union Territory-level committee constituted by the Lieutenant Governor.
According to the administration, the exercise addresses administrative anomalies by ensuring that every revenue village is mapped to a single tehsil and every tehsil falls within a single district, eliminating overlaps in jurisdiction without altering district boundaries.
The Lieutenant Governor has also directed the Chief Secretary to immediately appoint tehsildars to the newly created tehsils, with each officer holding independent charge to strengthen local administration.
The administration said the move would improve access to government services, particularly in remote and border areas where residents often travel long distances for revenue and other official work.
Following the reorganisation, Leh district will have five tehsils, Kargil seven, Changthang four, Nubra six, Zanskar four, Sham five and Drass one.
According to the statement, the restructuring has been carried out under Section 5 of the Jammu and Kashmir Land Revenue Act, 1996, as applicable to the Union Territory of Ladakh through the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019.
