MHA announces five new districts in Ladakh

NEW DELHI: The home ministry on Monday approved the creation of five new districts in the Union territory of Ladakh, in a move aimed at better percolation of development and welfare schemes to the grassroots, thus boosting governance.

“In pursuit of PM Shri @narendramodi Ji's vision to build a developed and prosperous Ladakh, the MHA has decided to create five new districts in the union territory. The new districts, namely Zanskar, Drass, Sham, Nubra and Changthang, will take the benefits meant for the people to their doorsteps by bolstering governance in every nook and cranny,” home minister Amit Shah shared on ‘X’ on Monday.


Quoting Shah’s post, Prime Minister Narendra Modi stated on ‘X’: “Creation of five new districts in Ladakh is a step towards better governance and prosperity. Zanskar, Drass, Sham, Nubra, and Changthang will now receive more focused attention, bringing services and opportunities even closer to the people. Congratulations to the people there”.


The five new districts will take the total number of districts in Ladakh to seven. Currently, the northernmost UT — unique in terms of its large area, difficult terrain, very low population density and strategic location next to China — comprises the two districts of Leh and Kargil.

While approving the five new districts on Monday, the ministry of home affairs (MHA) directed the Ladakh administration to set up a committee to assess various aspects related to the formation of new districts, such as their headquarters, boundaries and structure; and creation of posts, etc. The panel will submit its report within three months, based on which the UT of Ladakh will send the final proposal regarding creation of the new districts to the MHA for further action.

Ladakh, earlier a part of erstwhile state of J&K, was hived off into a separate Union territory as part of reorganisation of J&K in 2019.

Stating that Ladakh is one of the least populated areas of the country, MHA in a statement on Monday said: “Being extremely difficult and inaccessible, at present the district administration was facing many difficulties in reaching the grassroots level. After the formation of these districts, now all the public welfare schemes of the Central govt and Ladakh administration will be able to reach the people easily and more and more people will be able to take advantage of them. This important decision of MHA will prove to be very useful in the all-round development of Ladakh”.

Since 2015, the Narendra Modi government has made several efforts to boost development in Ladakh by approving nine schemes worth over Rs 21,000 crore exclusively for the region. However Ladakh had continued to lag behind in development before the Modi government made it a separate UT in 2019. The Centre has since raised Ladakh ‘a budget to Rs 5,958 crore per year. Connectivity of Ladakh was enhanced with the construction of 750 km of roads and 30 helipads, thus boosting tourism and creating employment opportunities in the UT. Ten new tourists circuits and five mountaineering tracks were opened. Ladakh’s major electricity deficit problem was addressed with the setting up of transmission lines as well as solar and hydel power projects.

Smart classrooms have helped refurbish the schools of Ladakh. A Central university was approved for Ladakh. To improve the health services in the UT, hospitals have been set up in Leh and Kargil districts and ICU wards created for children and senior citizens. SIDCO was set up in the UT for development of small industries and 1000 metric tonnes worth of cold storage facilities okayed.

Home minister Amit Shah also approved the first ever winter-grade diesel sales outlet for Ladakh, allowing availability of diesel to its residents in the harshest of winters.

“The Modi government is committed to creating abundant opportunities for the people of Ladakh,” Shah stated on Monday.

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