President promulgates LAHDC Regulation, paves the way for hill council polls in all eight districts of Ladakh

Ladakh is all set to hold elections to eight hill councils for eight districts as President Droupadi Murmu promulgated the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Councils (LAHDC) (Amendment) Regulation, 2026, Lieutenant Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena said on Tuesday (October 20, 2026).

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Terming it a “historic regulation”, Mr. Saxena said: “It was implemented in a record time of just six days and now paves the way for the creation of LAHDC in all eight districts of Ladakh, including the newly created Sankoo district. The Union Cabinet had approved the amendments on October 14, followed by their promulgation by the Honourable President on 16th October.”

Participatory governance

Elaborating on the council’s composition, Mr. Saxena said the amended regulation rationalises the number of constituencies from the earlier 26 seats in each council to a minimum of seven seats and a maximum of 24 seats now. “It also provides for the nomination of four members from ‘women’ and ‘unrepresented communities’ for greater people’s participation in the local governance,” said Mr. Saxena.

The Lieutenant Governor thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah for this “landmark regulation, that will strengthen grassroots democracy, enhance local representation and promote inclusivity”.

Ladakh was carved out as a Union Territory in 2019 from the Kashmir division of the erstwhile State of Jammu and Kashmir. Prior to 2019, Ladakh had only two hill councils, one in the Muslim-majority district of Kargil and another in the Buddhist-majority district of Leh. However, the L-G administration has created eight districts this year.

At present, LAHDC-Kargil, which held elections in 2023, remains in place. However, Chief Executive Councillor (CEC) Mohammad Jaffer Akhoon recently hinted at stepping down from the post.

Questions on timing

Meanwhile, the Kargil Democratic Alliance (KDA), one of the key civil society bodies holding dialogue with the Centre over the demands of Statehood and the Sixth Schedule, questioned the timing of the amendments to the LAHDC.

“At a time when talks are ongoing to negotiate a settlement for Ladakh, including demands for constitutional status and stronger protections for the LAHDCs, it is deeply problematic that the government has chosen to make substantial changes to the composition, powers and functioning of these councils without consulting the people and stakeholders of Ladakh,” said KDA member Sajjad Kargilli.

He expressed concern over the changes and said it “directly affects the institutions through which local self-government is exercised, making consultation especially important when the future of Ladakh’s political and constitutional arrangements remains under discussion”.

He said the government was effectively changing the institutional framework that these negotiations are meant to address, while giving the Union Territory administration greater control over the composition and functioning of the councils.

“This raises serious questions about the government’s commitment to the ongoing dialogue and whether the eventual settlement will secure meaningful autonomy for Ladakh or leave its representative institutions subject to executive discretion,” said Mr. Kargilli.