Saugat Biswas is first divisional commissioner Ladakh

Saugat Biswas, the 2006-batch IAS officer, was posted as the first divisional commissioner of the Ladakh division, which was created by the Jammu and Kashmir administration on Friday.

Consequent upon the creation of a separate administrative and revenue division for Ladakh comprising Leh and Kargil districts, Saugat Biswas, holding charge of secretary Information Technology, is transferred and posted as Divisional Commissioner of Ladakh, General Administrative Department secretary-commissioner Hilal Ahmed said in an order Friday night.

The officer shall remain headquartered at Leh for three weeks and in the state capital for one week in a month, the order said.

In a major decision, the Jammu and Kashmir administration Friday created a separate division for Ladakh, which was part of the Kashmir division until now.

Ladakh will now have a separate divisional commissioner and an inspector general of police (IG) with a full administrative and revenue division at par with Kashmir and Jammu divisions.

"Ladakh created as a separate administrative and revenue division. Jammu and Kashmir will have three divisions -- Jammu, Ladakh and Kashmir," the administration said.

The administration has sanctioned creation of a separate administrative and revenue division comprising Leh and Kargil districts, with its headquarters at Leh, the order said.

It has also ordered constitution of a committee under the chairmanship of principal secretary, planning, development and monitoring department to identify the posts of divisional-level heads of departments that may be required for the new division, particularly their staffing pattern, responsibilities and proposed location of these offices.

The order said the decision goes a long way in fulfilling the governance and development aspirations of the people of the Ladakh region.

"The issue has been discussed at various fora and there has been a persistent demand for the creation of division for Ladakh from many organisations, including the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Councils (LAHDC) Leh and Kargil," it added.

Ladakh is one of the most sparsely populated regions in Jammu and Kashmir and is the highest plateau in the state, with most of it being over 9,800 feet above the sea level. The region is geographically isolated with an inhospitable terrain.

Consequently, the region is riddled with insurmountable problems with respect to delivery of developmental schemes, redressal of public grievances, conduct of administrative affairs and governance, it said.

The people of Ladakh have for a long time been demanding effective local institutional arrangements which can help accelerate the pace of development and equitable all-round growth and development, said the order.