SRINAGAR: A day after Ladakh Lt Governor V K Saxena approved the creation of 17 new tehsils in the Union Territory and increased the number of tehsils from 15 to 32, a Kargil Democratic Alliance (KDA) leader has alleged glaring imbalance and disparity in the distribution of tehsils.
KDA co-chairman Sajjad Kargili claimed that the erstwhile Leh district has been allocated 12 new tehsils while the erstwhile Kargil district, comprising Zanskar, Drass and Kargil, has been allocated only 5 Tehsils.
Kargili alleged that the disparity is difficult to reconcile with objective parameters. He termed the move 'brazen injustice' and said that, though Kargil has a larger population and more villages than the other five newly created districts combined, its administrative needs appear to have been overlooked.
The KDA co-chairman said the fact that Drass has not been granted a single additional tehsil despite its substantial population, large number of villages, and genuine administrative requirements is concerning.
Kargili also alleged that there are instances where a new tehsil has reportedly been created for a single village, raising serious questions over the criteria adopted for the exercise.
“This move shows the absence of ‘sense of justice’ from the administration and reflects a discriminatory approach towards the people of Kargil and Drass,” he further alleged.
The restructuring has been undertaken under Section 5 of the Jammu & Kashmir Land Revenue Act, 1996, as applicable to the Union Territory of Ladakh, through the Jammu & Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019, which empowers the administration to alter the limits and numbers of tehsils by notification.
Meanwhile, the LG Saxena had directed the Chief Secretary to immediately appoint Tehsildars in the new Tehsils, with one officer being assigned the independent charge of a Tehsil, in order to increase administrative efficiency.
“With the operationalisation of these districts through a comprehensive reorganisation of Tehsils and Revenue Villages, we are establishing a robust administrative framework that will significantly improve revenue administration, strengthen grassroots governance and ensure faster implementation of developmental programmes,” he had said.
