Centre Hinders Local Decision-Making in Ladakh by Withdrawing Financial Powers
Project Approvals Centralised in Delhi, Bypassing Local Governance
December 9, 2025
The Ministry of Home Affairs has withdrawn all financial sanctioning powers from Ladakh’s local administration and elected councils, centralising them in Delhi. The move is likely to disrupt local decision-making and delay essential development in a region where planning and execution must match a narrow seasonal window.
On November 24, the Union government issued an order taking back powers previously granted to the Lieutenant Governor, administrative secretaries, engineers, district magistrates and the Hill Development Councils of Leh and Kargil, as reported by Scroll.in.
The Lieutenant Governor, who could approve projects up to 1 billion (100 crore) rupees, no longer has that authority. The same applies to senior officers who could earlier sanction projects between 30 million (3 crore) and 200 million (20 crore) rupees depending on their role. These powers now lie entirely with the Union Home Ministry.
The two elected Hill Councils, which are local governance bodies in Leh and Kargil districts that oversee development planning and administration at the district level, had financial sanctioning powers up to 50 million (5 crore) rupees, which have also been withdrawn.
These powers were part of the post-2019 administrative framework created after Ladakh became a Union Territory. The Centre claimed that the revised structure would ensure better coordination and transparency, and issued the order without consultation with local representatives or elected bodies and without reference to any upcoming institutional reform.
The change follows a period of public unrest and long-standing political demands in Ladakh.
In September 2025, four civilians were killed during protests in Leh over demands for statehood and constitutional guarantees. Climate activist Sonam Wangchuk was detained shortly after.
Since 2019, local leaders from both districts have called for a legislature, Sixth Schedule protections, separate parliamentary seats, and a local Public Service Commission. These demands have not been addressed. The Sixth Schedule protections refer to constitutional provisions that allow for elected Autonomous District Councils in tribal areas which can make laws and decisions on land use, employment and cultural matters to protect indigenous communities.
The term of the Leh Hill Council ended in October with no election announced. Panchayat elections have been pending for two years.
Kargil’s council is the only elected institution still functioning.
The removal of sanctioning powers may create a severe administrative obstacle in Ladakh.
The region functions within a narrow working season due to snow and extreme weather. Project approvals that once happened locally must now wait for decisions from officers in Delhi, who are unfamiliar with local terrain and timing. As a result, essential works like road repairs, public infrastructure and water supply projects may face delays that could cancel an entire working season. Once winter sets in, no activity can resume until the following year.
Development in high-altitude districts requires fast, coordinated action. Local officials and engineers plan around unpredictable weather, transport disruptions and workforce availability. Under the new order, none of these actors have the authority to act. Every project, no matter how urgent, must be routed through Delhi. This is likely to cause long procedural delays, reduce flexibility and paralyse execution on the ground.
The withdrawal of financial powers also removes any link between responsibility and authority.
Officers in Ladakh will continue to be held accountable for results, but they no longer control the decisions that shape their work. This may create a distorted system in which those closest to the region’s needs have no role in managing them. The outcome could be confusion, blame-shifting and institutional stagnation.
For the elected Hill Councils, this change may erase the last trace of functional power. These bodies were designed to serve as local decision-making institutions, especially after Ladakh was left without a legislature. Their ability to approve even modest development works is now gone. This may further remove the public from participating in governance.
Leaders from both Leh and Kargil have called the order an act of disempowerment, warning that it signals deliberate centralisation in place of democratic process.
The Union government’s reasoning that this change improves transparency fails to account for Ladakh’s administrative realities. Transparency and coordination do not require the elimination of local powers. In this case, they are being used to justify complete central control over budgets and projects.
Rather than granting democratic institutions or negotiating shared authority, the Centre has chosen to remove even the minimal autonomy that existed. It has replaced partnership with permission, and blocked development by cutting off the ability to act.
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