The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has significantly curtailed the financial powers of the Lieutenant Governor (LG) of Ladakh and administrative secretaries, a move that has sparked criticism from UT representatives who fear it will disempower the region and impede development.

Under the new order, the LG of Ladakh's authority to approve schemes and projects up to ₹100 crore has been revoked. Similarly, the power of administrative secretaries to approve expenditures up to ₹20 crore has also been withdrawn. These approvals will now be granted by the MHA. Furthermore, the MHA has assumed the power to sanction individual works up to ₹5 crore, previously held by the Head of Departments, including Deputy Commissioners who function as Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) of the Hill Development Councils. The authority to sanction individual works valued up to ₹10 crore and ₹3 crore, which was earlier held by Chief Engineers and Superintending Engineers, respectively, has also been taken over by the MHA.

The order, issued by Lieutenant Governor Kavinder Gupta based on instructions from the MHA, effectively redraws Ladakh's financial governance map, placing New Delhi at the center of decision-making for most major developmental and infrastructure projects.

UT representatives have expressed concerns that the changes will hinder development due to a lack of understanding of local realities within the Ministry of Home Affairs. Chief Executive Councillor of the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council (LAHDC) Kargil, Dr. Mohd Jaffar Akhoon, conveyed his apprehensions to the Union Home Minister, stating that the curtailment of financial powers would adversely affect development works across the region, especially given Ladakh's short working season due to harsh winters.

Despite the changes, the LG will retain full power within budgetary limits for incurring contingent and miscellaneous expenditure, including administrative approval and expenditure sanction, in accordance with the General Financial Rules. The LG will also exercise powers to grant contracts and purchases for open or limited tender contracts up to ₹100 crore. For procurement and tendering, the Chief Secretary will have powers up to ₹50 crore, Administrative Secretaries up to ₹20 crore, and Heads of Department up to ₹2 crore, subject to adherence to codal formalities and guidelines.

The Lieutenant Governor will continue to exercise full authority within budgetary limits for contingent and miscellaneous expenditure. Financial limits for other senior officials have been set at ₹1 crore for the Chief Secretary, ₹75 lakh for the Finance Secretary, ₹50 lakh for Administrative Secretaries, and ₹30 lakh for Heads of Department.

All new proposals requiring administrative approval or expenditure sanction must now be routed through the Planning, Development and Monitoring Department, Ladakh, before being forwarded to the MHA. Projects already sanctioned before the order will continue under the previous delegation framework.

The revised delegations are issued under Rule 12(3) of the Delegation of Financial Power Rules 2024 and remain subject to the General Financial Rules and subsequent Government of India instructions. The notification reiterates that no procurement process can begin without valid administrative approval and a matching budgetary provision.

The move comes at a time when the Leh Hill Council remains dissolved following the end of its term, with its powers temporarily assigned to the Deputy Commissioner of Leh, while the Kargil Hill Council continues to function.