New Delhi: Ladakh formally notified Sankoo as its eighth district on Friday, carving it out of Kargil and designating Sankoo as its headquarters. The administrative expansion, alongside five additional tehsils and a newly notified hill council, comes as negotiations over the Union territory’s political future remain unresolved.
A revenue department notification, Statutory Order (SO) 284, issued on Friday under Section 5 of the Jammu & Kashmir Land Revenue Act, 1996, takes effect on publication in the official Gazette. Sankoo district comprises four tehsils: Sankoo, GM Pore, TSG and Taisuru, with their specified revenue villages transferred from Kargil’s jurisdiction.
Five tehsils and separate hill council notified
A separate notification, SO 286, reorganized revenue jurisdictions for five tehsils: Aryan Valley in Sham, Sodh in Kargil, Phey in Zanskar, Thasgam in Drass and Himya in Changthang. The additions raise Ladakh’s tehsil count to 37, following 17 additions in July.
The administration also notified the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council for Sankoo under SO 285 and the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Councils Act, 1997. The Kargil council’s territorial jurisdiction will shrink accordingly, but elections to Sankoo’s council await a separate notification.
Addressing a gathering in Sankoo on Friday, the lieutenant governor, Vinai Kumar Saxena, said, “The creation of Sankoo district fulfills a long-standing aspiration of the people of the area and marks another important step towards bringing administration closer to citizens. Our objective is to ensure that people in every part of Ladakh can access government services more easily and that the benefits of development reach every village and household. I express my sincere gratitude to the prime minister, Narendra Modi and home minister, Amit Shah for their continued support towards the development of Ladakh.”
Saxena also said that the administrative requirements for making Sankoo district functional would be addressed as soon as possible.
Ladakh had two districts, Leh and Kargil, until five more, Sham, Nubra, Changthang, Zanskar and Drass, were notified in April.
Separate district, unresolved political demands
The demand for Sankoo district was reiterated in March by a delegation including the Kargil hill council chief, Mohammad Jaffer Akhoon, and Ladakh MP Mohammad Haneefa Jan. The delegation also sought district status for Shakar-Chiktan, which is not part of the latest reorganization.
Meanwhile, the Leh Apex Body and Kargil Democratic Alliance continue pressing for greater democratic representation and constitutional safeguards. Talks with the Ministry of Home Affairs on Thursday ended without agreement after differences emerged over the powers of a proposed elected body under an Article 371(K) framework.
The sides are due to meet again in New Delhi on October 22. Sankoo’s separate district administration and hill council will require further operational and electoral steps.