Leh: In a major development aimed at addressing long-pending demands of the people of Ladakh, the Central Government is actively considering the regularisation of nautor land — barren government-owned land that has been cultivated or used by locals for years.
The decision follows the recent two-day visit of Union Home Secretary to Ladakh, where he held high-level discussions with civil society leaders and local administration officials regarding land rights and governance issues.
Acting on the Home Ministry’s directions, the Ladakh administration has constituted a high-level committee to examine the issue of nautor land and recommend a framework for granting ownership rights to eligible local residents. The committee will also review the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council (LAHDC) Act, 1997 to suggest measures for strengthening the Hill Councils in Leh and Kargil.
The committee, headed by IAS officer Sanjeev Khirwar, includes senior bureaucrats from the Law & Justice and General Administration departments, and will be assisted by DCs and CEOs of LAHDC from both districts.
Local leaders have hailed the move as a “revolutionary step” to safeguard Ladakh’s fragile ecology and protect land from being acquired by outsiders. According to available data, Leh district alone has over 14,400 acres of nautor land, while similar figures from Kargil are yet to be compiled.
