Editor JK News Today
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It is a big day for the whole of Ladakh region , five new districts have been created . It has been rightly hailed as “ a historic day for Ladakh,” by Lieutenant Governor V K Saxena of the nearly seven-year-old Union Territory starting from the edges of the Kashmir Valley to Himalayas up to border with China and the glacial heights of Siachen glacier.
This historic moment has its vast strategic importance , a message to the people of Ladakh that every nook and corner of the region is in mind of the Central Government and all steps were underway to reach out to them to look after them like people elsewhere in the country . This is internal messaging and at the same time messaging for the people and governments across the border- Pakistan and China that even the remotest village of the region, or for that matter of this country, is being given immense opportunities to grow and become part of “ Viksit Bharat”
For the past several years , Ladakh was being told that China had built extraordinary infrastructure up to Line of Atual Control and brought infrastructural development and other benefits to their villagers in border areas . This had created a sense of unease. The Modi government , since the day one of its coming to power , has been working to reach out to remote and inaccessible areas in the region . This was a commitment of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to up lift all areas and people alongside the developed parts of the country.
Today, one more step has been taken that will fulfill PM Modi’s vision of a “ developed and prosperous Ladakh.” It also brings lot of strategic gains for the region and to the rest of the country. Some gains are visible , others are going to appear soon the map of this cold desert region.
This decision has come a couple of days ahead of Home Minister Amit Shah’s all-important visit of Ladakh from April 30 .
Lieutenant Governor Saxena approved this notification on Monday- April 27, hailing it as a “ historic day for Ladakh.” The first letters of this historic day were written by Home Minister Amit Shah on August 26, 2024 , in line with “Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision to build a developed and prosperous Ladakh.
He had written that in pursuit of Modi’s vision , Amit Shah had announced that MHA has decided to create five new districts in the Union Territory. The would-be new districts to be created were : Zanskar, Drass, Sham , Nubra and Changthang . These new districts were to take benefits meant for the people to their doorsteps by bolstering governance in every nook and cranny . The Home Minister had also underscored that “ the Modi government is committed to creating abundant opportunities for the people of Ladakh.”
While announcing the decision on Monday, LG Saxena said that he has “ approved the notification for the creation of five new districts, fulfilling the aspirations and long pending demand of the people of Ladakh . With the creation of five new districts , Ladakh will now have seven districts , from existing two -Leh and Kargil .He underlined that this development is aligned with Prime Minister Modi’s vision of a developed and prosperous Ladakh.
“ This transformative decision , already approved by the Ministry of Home Affairs in August 2024 , under the leadership of Minister for Home Affairs Amit Shah . It would strengthen grassroots governance , decentralize administration and ensures faster delivery of public services to the people of Ladakh, especially those in remote and far-flung areas.”
While crediting PM and Home Minister , Saxena stated that creation of new districts , apart from bringing closer to citizens , will create new avenues of growth , employment and entrepreneurship , and he went on to reaffirm his commitment to “ ensuring that every citizen of Ladakh benefits from this historic decision, as we move together towards a brighter, stronger and more prosperous future.’
This decision of the Modi government was aimed at creating immense possibilities for the people of Ladakh
Clear objectives were listed for the creation of new districts : a;; the welfare schemes of the government reach the people early and more people will benefit from them. This was part of the announcement made on August 26, 2024 .
Ladakh is a very large union territory in terms of area.. It has approximately 59,146, square kilometres of area descending from the height of Zojilla pass to the extreme end of Demchok bordering China , but it is one of the least populated area of the country . As most of its areas are extremely difficult and inaccessible , the existing district administrations of Leh and Kargil districts were confronted with many difficulties in reaching the grassroots level. The MHA had understood and analysed all this before taking this decision. However, the implementation of the decision of August 2024 took time because a lot of work was to be done in terms of demarcating boundaries and selection of locations for district headquarters .
In view of this , the MHA after giving approval in principle on august 24, 2026, assigned the Ladakh administration to ‘ form a committee to assess various
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. This important decision of MHA will prove to be very useful in the all-round development of Ladakh.. aspects related to the formation of new districts, such as headquarters, boundaries, structure, creation of posts, any other aspect related to the formation of district etc. and submit its report .”
Once the report was submitted , the things have become a reality.
