Jammu/Leh: Ladakh administration has dissolved the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council (LAHDC), Kargil, with immediate effect following the resignation of its chief executive councillor, three executive councillors and six other councillors, amid the reorganisation of the Union Territory’s administrative framework.
An order to this effect was issued late on Wednesday night by Shurbir Singh, Commissioner-Secretary, Revenue, Ladakh. The decision follows the creation of new districts, including Drass, Zanskar and Sankoo, by carving out territories from the erstwhile Kargil district.
The order — issued in accordance with the direction of Lieutenant Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena under the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Councils Act, 1997 — states that the redrawing of territorial boundaries has rendered the existing composition of the Kargil Hill Council legally untenable and structurally incapable of functioning within its original framework.
“The body corporate known as the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council, Kargil, stands dissolved and de-constituted with immediate effect,” the order states.
It further directs that the chief executive councillor, executive councillors and all elected or nominated members of the erstwhile council shall cease to hold office or exercise any powers.
To ensure continuity of administration and public services, the order states that all powers, duties and functions previously exercised by the erstwhile council shall be vested in the Deputy Commissioner-Chief Executive Officer, Kargil.
The official shall continue to administer these functions until separate Hill Development Councils for the newly constituted districts are fully established in accordance with the provisions of the 1997 Act and the rules framed thereunder.
The order refers to notifications issued on September 3 and October 16, 2026, under which separate Autonomous Hill Development Councils were deemed necessary for the newly constituted districts to promote localised, grassroots governance.
