The Sampadak Express News Desk
President Droupadi Murmu has promulgated the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Councils (Amendment) Regulation, 2026, clearing the way for elections to hill councils in all eight districts of Ladakh, Lieutenant Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena said on Tuesday, October 20, 2026. The announcement and details were reported by The Hindu.
Calling it a “historic” measure, Mr. Saxena said the regulation enables the creation of councils in every district, including the newly notified Sankoo. He said the Union Cabinet approved the amendments on October 14, followed by promulgation by the President on October 16, and that the changes were implemented “in a record time of just six days.”
The amended framework restructures the councils’ composition by reducing the earlier fixed size of 26 elected seats in each council to a range of seven to 24 constituencies per district, Mr. Saxena said. It also provides for four nominated members, drawn from women and unrepresented communities, in a move the administration says is intended to expand participation in local governance. The Lieutenant Governor thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah, saying the regulation would strengthen grassroots democracy, improve local representation and promote inclusivity.
Ladakh became a Union Territory in 2019 after its separation from the erstwhile State of Jammu and Kashmir. Until now, it had two hill councils — in Kargil and Leh. The administration has created eight districts this year, and with the new regulation in place, the government says district-level councils can be constituted across the Union Territory. LAHDC-Kargil, which held elections in 2023, remains in place; its Chief Executive Councillor, Mohammad Jaffer Akhoon, has recently hinted at stepping down.
However, the Kargil Democratic Alliance (KDA) — a key civil society grouping engaged in talks with the Centre over demands including Statehood and inclusion under the Sixth Schedule — questioned the timing and process behind the changes. “At a time when talks are ongoing to negotiate a settlement for Ladakh… it is deeply problematic that the government has chosen to make substantial changes… without consulting the people and stakeholders of Ladakh,” KDA member Sajjad Kargilli said. He argued the amendments affect institutions central to local self-government and asserted that they give the Union Territory administration greater control over the councils’ composition and functioning. Mr. Kargilli said this raises questions about the government’s commitment to the ongoing dialogue and whether any eventual settlement will secure meaningful autonomy for Ladakh.
With the regulation now in force, the administration says the legal framework is in place to conduct hill council elections across all eight districts.
