17 new tehsils created in Ladakh

In a landmark administrative reform, Lieutenant Governor, Vinai Kumar Saxena, has approved a comprehensive reorganisation and rationalisation of Tehsils and Revenue Villages, following the creation of five new districts in the Union Territory of Ladakh. Under this reorganisation, 17 new Tehsils have been created in Ladakh, taking the total number of Tehsils to 32, from the existing 15. This exercise aims at operationalising the new districts, while bringing public services to the doorsteps of the people, thereby, strengthening governance at the grassroots.

The new Tehsils have been created on the recommendations of a UT-Level Committee constituted by the LG, following the notification of the new districts on April 27 this year. The Committee observed serious lacunae in the existing administrative units, including Tehsils and Revenue Villages, as they were not clearly demarcated. The Committee found that boundaries of several Tehsils extended across more than one district, resulting in administrative overlap and operational challenges.

To address these issues, every Revenue village has now been mapped to a single Tehsil and every Tehsil to a single district, thereby creating a transparent, logical and efficient administrative structure while ensuring that no changes are made to the territorial boundaries of any district. The decision, therefore, establishes a clear and streamlined revenue administrative framework for the newly created districts and would significantly improve administrative efficiency, public service delivery and local governance. The L-G has also directed the Chief Secretary to immediately appoint Tehsildars in these new Tehsils, with one officer being assigned the independent charge of a Tehsil, in order to increase administrative efficiency.

Ladakh, one of India’s largest Union Territories in terms of geographical area, has long faced administrative challenges due to its difficult terrain, sparse population, and remote habitations. The creation of 17 new Tehsils will significantly reduce travel distances for citizens (often exceeding 300 km) for availing government services, and ensure faster and more effective delivery of public services.

Following the reorganisation, Leh District will comprise 05 Tehsils; Kargil District  07 Tehsils; Changthang District 04 Tehsils; Nubra District 06 Tehsils; Zanskar District 04 Tehsils; Sham District 05 Tehsils; while Drass District will have one Tehsil.

“The creation of new districts was done to bring governance closer to the people and make the administration more accessible, responsive and citizen-centric. With the operationalisation of these districts through a comprehensive reorganisation of Tehsils and Revenue Villages, we are establishing a robust administrative framework that will significantly improve revenue administration, strengthen grassroots governance and ensure faster implementation of developmental programmes. Our objective is to ensure that every citizen, particularly those living in remote and border areas, has easier access to government services while enabling balanced, inclusive and sustainable development across Ladakh,” Saxena said.

This reorganisation would establish a clear, well-defined and unambiguous revenue administrative hierarchy. Each Tehsil will be headed by a Tehsildar or Naib Tehsildar, with Naib Tehsildars entrusted with the powers of Assistant Collector Class-I wherever they are in charge of Tehsils.

The restructuring has been undertaken under Section 5 of the Jammu & Kashmir Land Revenue Act, 1996, as applicable to the Union Territory of Ladakh, through the Jammu & Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019, which empowers the Administration to alter the limits and number of Tehsils through notification.