With the government announcing the creation of five new districts in Ladakh, the Congress on Monday asked whether there will be elected Autonomous Hill Development Councils for each of the new districts and will they have a much more meaningful and relevant say in how budgets are spent.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Monday said that his ministry has decided to create the five new districts in pursuit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision to build a developed and prosperous Ladakh.

“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,” he said.

Reacting to the development, Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh said, “The elected Autonomous Hill Development Council for Leh was established in 1995. The elected Autonomous Hill Development Council for Kargil was set up in 2003.”

“Now five new districts have been formed in Ladakh in addition to Leh and Kargil. Will there be elected Autonomous Hill Development Councils for each of the five new districts as well?” he asked.

Presently, the two existing elected Autonomous Hill Development Councils have control over less than 10% of the total expenditure allocated to Ladakh and the balance 90% is being under the control of the lieutenant governor and the bureaucracy, he said.

Will the elected AHDCs have a much more meaningful and relevant say in how budgets are spent? Ramesh asked.

Earlier, the home minister said the Modi government is committed to creating abundant opportunities for the people of Ladakh. Ladakh was made a UT after the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir was bifurcated into two UTs on August 5, 2019. The other UT is Jammu and Kashmir.

Article 370, which gave special status to the erstwhile state, was also abrogated on that day five years ago.

Being a UT, Ladakh comes under the direct administrative control of the Union Home Ministry.