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Sankoo to be Ladakh’s 8th district, says LG
Move aimed at bringing governance closer to people, strengthening grassroots democracy and ensuring easier access to public services
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In yet another landmark people-centric decision, Ladakh lieutenant governor, Vinai Kumar Saxena, on Friday, announced the creation of Sankoo as the eighth district of the Union territory of Ladakh, along with the creation of five new tehsils, in Ladakh, marking a big stride towards decentralising administration, strengthening grassroots democracy and bringing governance closer to the people.
The creation of Sankoo district comes less than six months after the announcement of five new districts—Changthang, Drass, Nubra, Sham and Zanskar. With this, the number of districts in Ladakh has gone up to eight.
Carved out of the existing Kargil district, the newly created Sankoo district is one of the most populous regions in Ladakh and will comprise the tehsils of GM Pore, TSG and Taisuru.
The decision fulfills a long-standing aspiration of the people of the region and will facilitate better administrative coordination, improve access to government services and strengthen public participation in governance.
Saxena, who was in Sankoo on Friday, also attended a massive gathering to celebrate the creation of the new Sankoo district. According to officials, a large number of people gathered and expressed gratitude to the central government and the LG for fulfilling their long-standing demand for a separate district.
The LG said the decision was in line with the vision of ‘Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas’ of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union home minister Amit Shah. “The creation of Sankoo district fulfils 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 PM and Shah for their continued support towards the development of Ladakh,” said Saxena.
The LG also assured the gathering that the administrative requirements arising from the creation of the new district would be addressed at the earliest and that necessary appointments would be made soon to facilitate its effective functioning.
Five new tehsils get adm’s nod {BOX}
In another significant decision aimed at further decentralising administration, the LG announced the creation of five new tehsils across Ladakh. These include: Aryan Valley (Sham district): Comprising Dha-Beema, Hanu, Garkone and Darchiks.
Sodh (Kargil district): comprising Yourbaltak, Akchamal, Apatee, Tumail, Barchey, Silmoo, Lalung and Chulichan. Phey (Zanskar district): comprising Rangdum, Phey, Emala-Shagan, Hamiling, Abran, Akshow, Atting, Rantaksha and Tungri. Thasgam (Drass district): comprising Thasgam, Jasgund, Kharboo and Shimsha. Hemya (Changthang district): comprising Tukla, Liktse, Tarchit, Kungyam, Teri and hemya.
The creation of these tehsils will further improve the reach of administrative institutions and facilitate access to essential public services for people living in remote and far-flung areas.
Earlier, on July 12, the LG had announced the creation of 17 new tehsils as part of the broader administrative reorganisation of Ladakh. With the addition of the five new tehsils announced, the total number of tehsils in the UT has increased to 37.
The LG said the ongoing reorganisation aims to operationalise the newly created districts, improve administrative efficiency, and ensure citizens can access government services closer to home.
