Leh, May 12: The Union Territory Administration of Ladakh has conferred powers of District Magistrates upon the Deputy Commissioners of the newly created districts of Sham, Nubra, Changthang, Zanskar and Drass, further advancing the administrative operationalisation of the five districts notified last month.
The notification, issued by the Home Department and published in an Extraordinary edition of The Ladakh Gazette on Tuesday, appoints the Deputy Commissioners of the respective districts as Executive Magistrates and vests them with all powers and functions of District Magistrates under the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), 2023.
According to the notification, the District Magistrates will exercise jurisdiction within the territorial limits of the respective districts as notified earlier by the Revenue Department through Notification No. S.O. 180 dated April 27, 2026.
The order was issued in the name of the Lieutenant Governor of Ladakh and signed by Chief Secretary Ashish Kundra, IAS, along with Special Secretary Tashi Dolma, JKAS.
The move comes amid the ongoing restructuring of Ladakh’s administrative framework following the creation of five new districts — Sham, Nubra, Changthang, Zanskar and Drass — aimed at decentralising governance and improving administrative accessibility in remote regions of the Union Territory.
With the latest notification, the newly appointed Deputy Commissioners will now exercise statutory authority relating to law and order, executive administration and district-level governance under the provisions of the BNSS, enabling the districts to function with full magisterial powers.
Former Chairman and Chief Executive Councillor of the BJP-led LAHDC Leh, Adv. Tashi Gyalson, welcomed the development and described the decision as a timely administrative measure to strengthen governance in the newly established districts.
He appreciated the Union Territory Administration for what he termed a swift decision to empower the Deputy Commissioners with District Magistrate authority, stating that the move would facilitate smoother administration, quicker decision-making and improved delivery of public services.
Adv. Gyalson also expressed gratitude to the Lieutenant Governor of Ladakh for issuing the notification in the larger public interest and said the administrative empowerment of the districts would contribute to more responsive governance structures across Ladakh.
He further congratulated the residents of Zanskar, Sham, Nubra, Changthang and Drass, stating that the conferring of District Magistrate powers marks another administrative step towards fully operationalising the newly created districts.
Officials said the notification is expected to accelerate institutional functioning in the new districts by enabling local administrations to independently exercise executive and magisterial responsibilities without procedural delays.
