Centre unveils 5 new Ladakh districts amid Sonam Wangchuk stir

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Sonam Wangchuk to launch stir for Ladakh statehood

By Our Special Correspondent

New Delhi, August 26: The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has decided to create five new districts in the union territory of Ladakh. The announcement has come amid activist Sonam Wangchuk setting out for a fresh protest in Ladakh.

Informing about the decision in a post on the social media platform X, formerly Twitter, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said: “The new districts – 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.”

After the formation of these five districts, there will now be a total of seven districts in Ladakh, including Leh and Kargil. “Ladakh is a very large union territory in terms of area,” said the MHA in a media statement.

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At present, Ladakh has two districts – Leh and Kargil. It is one of the least populated areas of India.

“Being extremely difficult and inaccessible, at present the district administration was facing many difficulties in reaching the grassroots level,” added the MHA in the statement.

The government also said that “after the formation of these districts, now all the public welfare schemes of the Central Government and Ladakh Administration will be able to reach the people easily and more and more people will be able to take advantage of them”.

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The announcement has come amid the threat of Wangchuk to begin another protest. The activist is pressing for the statehood of Ladakh.

Wangchuk had earlier also held protests amid freezing temperature. He had sought the international attention to the alleged damage to the fragile ecology of Ladakh because of the development and the construction works.

“This important decision of MHA will prove to be very useful in the all-round development of Ladakh. Along with giving ‘in-principle approval’ for the formation of five new districts, the Ministry of Home Affairs has asked the Ladakh administration to form a committee to assess various aspects related to the formation of new districts,” added the MHA in the media statement.

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The Ladakh administration has been asked to work out headquarters, boundaries, structure, creation of posts, any other aspect related to the formation of district etc. and submit its report within three months.

“After receiving the report of the said committee, the Union Territory of Ladakh will send the final proposal regarding the creation of new districts on the basis of this report to the Home Ministry for further action,” added the MHA in the statement.

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