Leh: Ladakh Lieutenant Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena has decentralised the Union Territory’s land-use approval process by authorising the Chief Secretary and Divisional Commissioner to approve change of land use for specified categories of land outside municipal committee areas.
Under the revised framework, the Divisional Commissioner will be authorised to approve change of land use for plots above two kanals and up to four kanals, while the Chief Secretary will have the authority to clear applications involving land above four kanals and up to two acres. Proposals involving land exceeding two acres will continue to require the Lieutenant Governor’s approval.
The move follows an earlier decision on July 8 under which residential, commercial, industrial and mixed-use development on land up to two kanals was exempted from prior approval.
According to an official statement, the decentralisation is intended to speed up the disposal of applications and address delays arising from the absence of notified Master Plans and Zonal Development Plans in Ladakh.
The administration said the interim framework would facilitate construction of houses, commercial establishments, small-scale industrial units and mixed-use developments in rural areas while ensuring regulatory oversight until the statutory planning framework is notified.
The Lieutenant Governor said the objective was to simplify governance and ensure that citizens were not inconvenienced due to the absence of notified planning instruments. He said the revised system sought to balance developmental needs with environmental and planning considerations.
The Revenue Department has been directed to issue detailed operational guidelines for regulating land use and construction activities outside municipal limits. According to the administration, the framework will remain in force until Master Plans, Zonal Development Plans and related statutory regulations are notified.
