Union Minister of State for Home Affairs, Shri G. Kishan Reddy, in a written reply to a question regarding tribal status to Ladakh, in Lok Sabha today, said that as per the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019, the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council Act, 1997 (LAHDC Act, 1997), as amended from time to time, continues to be applicable to the successor Union Territory of Ladakh.
The Minister informed the House that LAHDC Act, 1997 provides for establishment of Autonomous Hill Development Councils in the Ladakh region. Autonomous Hill Development Councils came into existence in Leh in 1995 and in Kargil in 2003. The powers given to these Councils are more or less in line with the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution of India. After the amendment of the LAHDC Act, 1997 in 2018, these Councils have been further empowered.