Ladakh, confirmed the dissolution ahead of Panchayat elections on November 21, 2026
Ladakh Dissolves Kargil Hill Council Amid District Re-organisation: The Ladakh administration has dissolved the erstwhile Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council (LAHDC), Kargil, with immediate effect following district reorganization. The move comes after the resignation of its chief executive councillor, three executive councillors and six other councillors, as the Union Territory prepares for a revised local governance structure. Meanwhile panchayat elections in the region have been scheduled for November 21, 2026.
The Union Territory will hold panchayat elections after eight years, with the last polls conducted in November 2018. According to an order issued late on Wednesday night by Shurbir Singh, Commissioner-Secretary, Revenue, Ladakh, confirmed the dissolution under the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Councils Act, 1997, following directions from Lieutenant Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena.
According to the order, changes in territorial boundaries have made the current structure of the Kargil Hill Council legally unsustainable and operationally unviable. ‘The body corporate known as the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council, Kargil, stands dissolved and de-constituted with immediate effect,’ the order states.
The administration has also notified 100 elected constituencies across eight Autonomous Hill Development Councils under the amended 1997 Act. These are Leh (22), Kargil (21), Sankoo (13), Changthang (10), Nubra (9),Sham (9), Zanskar (9) and Drass (7). Notifications issued on September 3 and October 16, 2026, identified the need for separate councils in the newly constituted districts to promote localised, grassroots governance.
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The Deputy Commissioner-cum-Chief Executive Officer, Kargil, will take over the council’s powers, duties and functions to ensure continuity of administration and public services.
Ladakh panchayat election proposed schedule is as follows
1. October 26: Notifications for the elections to be issued by the administrator and the State Election Commission
2. November 2: Last date for filing nominations
3. November 3: Scrutiny of nomination papers
4. November 5: Last date for withdrawal of nominations
5. November 21: Polling
6. November 30: Deadline to complete the entire election process
