New Delhi: Union home minister Amit Shah has announced the creation of five new districts in Ladakh: Zanskar, Drass, Sham, Nubra, and Changthang.
Currently, Ladakh has two districts, Leh and Kargil. It has been reported to face administrative challenges due to its large area and difficult terrain.
The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has given in-principle approval for the new districts and requested the Ladakh administration to form a committee to manage details such as boundaries and infrastructure.
The Ladakh administration is to submit a report on the formation of the new districts to the MHA within three months.
On X, Amit Shah wrote that the decision is in pursuit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s “vision to build a developed and prosperous Ladakh” and that the new districts “will take the benefits meant for the people to their doorsteps by bolstering governance in every nook and cranny.”
Modi wrote that the decision will mean that people “will now receive more focused attention, bringing services and opportunities even closer to the people.”
Meanwhile, Ladakh residents have been demanding statehood for a while now. Ladakh became a Union Territory on August 5, 2019, following the bifurcation of Jammu and Kashmir and the reading down of Article 370.
Climate activist Sonam Wangchuk who had earlier gone on a hunger strike demanding the implementation of the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution in Ladakh, has announced a similar protest again.
In February, four demands had been forwarded by a body comprising all the eight tribes of Ladakh. These included full statehood for Ladakh, inclusion in the Sixth Schedule, establishment of a Public Service Commission in Ladakh for secure jobs and two MPs.