Ladakh, the union territory without a Legislature, and its hill councils

Background

The erstwhile State of Jammu and Kashmir was reorganised under the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019, which came into force with effect from 31st October, 2019. The Ministry of Home Affairs records that the State was reorganised into the Union territory of Jammu and Kashmir with Legislature and the Union territory of Ladakh without Legislature. Ladakh therefore has no Legislative Assembly of its own, while Jammu and Kashmir has one — the single contrast most often set in examinations on the reorganisation. The Administration of the Union Territory of Ladakh states that Ladakh became a Union Territory on 31st of October 2019. At its creation Ladakh had two districts, Leh and Kargil; the Lieutenant Governor later approved the issuance of a notification creating five new districts — Sham, Nubra, Changthang, Zanskar and Drass — so that Ladakh will now have total seven districts from the existing two. Local elected representation runs through the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Councils in the two original districts. In Kargil the Hill Council was constituted during the year 2003, and the Council has 30 members/councilors out of which 26 members are elected and 4 are nominated.