Planning Secy headed committee to identify posts of divisional heads
Div Com, IGP to be posted shortly; step to fulfil people’s aspirations
Mohinder Verma
JAMMU, Feb 8: In a landmark decision aimed at fulfilling the governance and development related aspirations of the people of cold desert region, Government has approved the creation of a separate Administrative and Revenue Division for Ladakh with its headquarters at Leh. Even approval has been accorded to the creation of the posts of Divisional Commissioner and Inspector General of Police Ladakh while as task of identifying the posts of divisional level heads of various departments has been assigned to a committee headed by Principal Secretary to Government, Planning, Development and Monitoring Department.
The EXCELSIOR in its edition dated December 6, 2018 had exclusively reported that the Governor’s Administration was contemplating to accord Divisional status to the Ladakh region and formal orders in this regard would be issued soon after completion of basic ground work.
Click here to watch video
It was also mentioned in the report that following accord of Divisional status, there will be separate Divisional Commissioner and Inspector General of Police for Ladakh region besides separate Directorates and heads of around 40 departments to ensure that people of Leh and Kargil districts don’t face the hassles of travelling to Srinagar for getting routine issues resolved.
As per the official handout issued by the Government, a committee has been constituted under the chairmanship of Principal Secretary to Government, Planning, Development and Monitoring Department to identify the posts of Divisional level heads of various departments that may be required for the new Division; particularly their staffing pattern, role and responsibilities and proposed location of these offices.
A Divisional Commissioner and Inspector General of Police for Ladakh Division will be appointed shortly while as posting of Divisional heads of various departments will take some time.
“There has been a persistent demand for the creation of Division for Ladakh from many organizations including the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Councils of Leh and Kargil and the issue was thoroughly discussed at various forums before reaching at a conclusion about creation of third Division for the State after Kashmir and Jammu”, the Government said, adding “the decision will go a long way in fulfilling the governance and developmental aspirations of the people of Ladakh region”.
Giving justifications for the decision, the Government said, “Ladakh is one of the most sparsely populated regions and is the highest plateau in the State of Jammu & Kashmir, with most of it being over 9,800 feet above sea level. Moreover, Ladakh region is geographically isolated with a sparse population and inhospitable terrain which remains landlocked for nearly six months in a year”.
Because of these reasons, the region is riddled with insurmountable problems with respect to delivery of developmental schemes, redressal of public grievances, conduct of administrative affairs and governance as such.
Stating that the people of Ladakh have, for a long time, been demanding effective local institutional arrangements which can help promote and accelerate the pace of development and equitable all-round growth and seek fullest participation of the local community in the decision-making process, the Government said that at present the powers of local governance have already been decentralized by formation of Hill Development Councils for the Leh and Kargil districts.
This was given effect to by enacting the Jammu and Kashmir Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council Act, 1997. Under the Act, the Hill Development Councils were established both for Leh and Kargil districts. In order to strengthen the Hill Development Councils Leh and Kargil, the LAHDC Act, 1997 was amended further in 2018 to give them more powers.
During winter months the entire Ladakh region remains cut-off from rest of the country for almost six months and air travel via Leh is the only mode of transport available to this region, which makes it impossible for people to visit other parts of the country for various purposes. “The remoteness and inaccessibility of the region makes it eligible for having a separate Division”, the Government further said.
It is worthwhile to mention here that in the month of December last year, the General House of the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council (LAHDC) Leh unanimously passed a resolution demanding Divisional status to Ladakh region besides raising other burning issues.
Thereafter, a high-level delegation from Leh led by Chief Executive Councillor Jamyang Tsering Namgial called on Governor Satya Pal Malik, his Advisors and Chief Secretary BVR Subrahmanyam separately and vociferously raised the demand of granting Divisional status to Ladakh. The similar demand was also raised by a high-level delegation from Kargil led by Chief Executive Councillor Feroz Khan.
Follow our WhatsApp channel
