It won’t be an exaggeration if I say that amazing changes have taken place in the lifestyle of the people of Ladakh since Independence.

Thanks to the expansion of the national highway, air connectivity, the opening of the region for international tourism in the 1974 and subsequently  the  introduction  of  modern  education.  Since  then  a number of seminars have been held and many books on the region have been written, and that has helped in projecting Ladakh as the bastion  of  Mahayana  Buddhist  culture  and  Buddhist-Muslim  co- existence. In the socio-political field, the region has witnessed a sea change in recent years.

After a long struggle, the region obtained two Autonomous Hill Development Councils, one each for Kargil and Leh. To get rid of the  centuries  old  darkness,  the  region  got  two  large  hydro-power stations, one each at Leh and Kargil which have helped the people to march towards modernity, and subsequently also helped the youth to pursue the best possible higher education in various universities of the country and abroad.

It is pertinent to mention here that the Prime Minister has given a call to the people to device a ‘New India Vision’ and strive to make the  country  a  developed  nation  by  2022  in  order  to  celebrate  the 75 years of India’s Independence. Similarly, we too need to assess the  achievements  of  the  people  of  Ladakh  since  the  region’s  bi- fabrication  into  two  districts,  namely  Leh  and  Kargil,  in  the  year 1979, and subsequently, the formation of LAHDCs, Leh and Kargil.

Now the question is: Can Leh town, which is the centre of every socio-cultural  and  political  hub  of  Ladakh,  face  the  challenges  of the 21st century Ladakh, such as good road connectivity, adequate water and electricity supply, sanitation and other facilities? Of course, we  hope  that  an  emerging  Ladakh  can  be  an  independent  tourist destination in the country. No doubt, in the field of providing hotel and guest house accommodation, the town is doing a marvelous job.

At present, more than a hundred hotels and similar number of guest houses  are  functioning.  Similarly,  if  one  gives  a  close  look  at  the main  market,  one  finds  a  lot  of  travel  agencies  and  cyber  shops, which is a new development for the town.

Historically,  the  Leh  town  was  planned  by  the  Dogra Administrator, more than one hundred years ago. Being a tiny town with a population of 8,000 or so till early 1960s, one could see people playing polo matches, occasionally, in the market. Till the year 1970, passenger  buses  would  pass  through  the  market.  This  has  now become a thing of the past.

Now, under the new beautification plan, the entry of vehicular traffic to the town has been sealed, and one finds only souvenir shops and tourists shopping all around, for art objects, jewellery, Pashmina shawls and Buddhist religious artifacts such as statues and Thankas, the sale of which was once banned.

With the expansion of urban culture and emergency of money- based economy also in the mountain region such as Ladakh, where people  were  self-sufficient  for  their  subsistence  in  the  past,  now, besides the people of the nearby villages, migration to the town is also  taking  place  from  the  far-flung  areas  of  the  district  such  as Nubra,  Changthang,  Zanskar  and  Kargil.  Due  to  the  increase  in vehicular traffic, road jams have become a daily routine. On account of the space scarcity in the town, the historical Polo Ground is now transformed into a parking ground. Similarly, the roads built at areas falling within the town, particularly at upper Leh and Tukcha areas, have become so narrow that at certain points only a car can pass.

The problems for the commuters to upper Leh are becoming more acute due to frequent traffic jams between the old tourist bungalow and the curve of the Moravian Church. The main entry road to the city is the square near the Indian Oil petrol pump. This is the place where the traffic coming from Srinagar, Manali and other places of Leh merge. The square used to be a splendid one once upon a time, but  now,  during  rush  hour,  because  of  school  buses  and  other vehicles  going  towards  Nubra  or  Kashmir  or  towards  Manali,  the traffic gets chaotic even during winter.

Compared to other mountain regions of the country, Leh town used to be more open and wide. The town had good space all around but then construction activities were permitted without adhering to building permission norms. And hence the town is now facing an acute land shortage even for setting up of schools. The time is ripe now for setting up of universities, technical colleges etc. but where is the space left?

I felt that there should be a university in the town, and, for which, I had met Prof. R.D. Sharma, Vice-Chancellor of Jammu University, while he was in Leh to attend an international conference organised by  the  University  of  Jammu  in  association  with  London  Global University  on  the  theme  ‘Increasing  Resilience  to  Environmental Hazards  in  Border  Conflict  Zones’  on  July  10-11,  2017.  Eminent scholars from the UK, Bhutan, Bangladesh and scores of intellectuals from different universities of the country and Leh and Kargil attended the conference.

While sharing the viewpoints on the state of higher learning in Ladakh, Prof Sharma expressed his view to establish a campus of the University of Jammu in Leh town, so that Ladakhi students could pursue Masters or even Ph.D. level education in Leh itself. I found the proposal of Prof. Sharma to be a well-thought and a significant gesture in the interest of Ladakhi students as well as the intellectual community of Ladakh. I, accordingly, decided to take the idea to the consideration  of  the  Chief  Executive  Councillor  of  Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council, Leh, and wrote a letter and dispatched the copy of the letter to all the 30 elected Councilors for their consideration. The letter is reproduced here for the information of the general public:

The Chief Executive Councilor

Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council

Leh, Ladakh

CRL/2017/102 Dated 03-10-2017

Subject: A campus of the University of Jammu at Leh

Sir,

An international conference was held at Leh, organised by the University  of  Jammu,  in  association  with  the  London  Global University,  on  the  theme  ‘Increasing  Resilience  to  Environmental Hazards in Border Conflict Zones’ from July 10-11, 2017. Eminent scholars  from  the  U.K.,  Bhutan,  Bangladesh  and  scores  of intellectuals from different universities of the country and from Leh and  Kargil  attended  the  conference.  Prof.  R.D.  Sharma,  Vice-

Why there is no Master Plan for Leh Town?

chancellor, the University of Jammu, attended the conference as a Guest of Honour.

Sharing his views on the state of higher learning in Ladakh, Prof.

Sharma wanted to establish a campus of the University of Jammu in Leh town so that Ladakhi students could pursue Masters or even Ph.D.  level  education  in  Leh  itself.  I  found  the  proposal  of  Prof.

Sharma to be a well-thought and significant gesture in the interest of Ladakhi students as well as intellectual community of Ladakh.

Here I must point out that the University Jammu carries the status of NAAC Accredited A+ University.

You are well aware of the fact the higher studies is suffering in our  district  in  the  absence  of  a  university  within  the  reach  of  the population residing in Leh town. Earlier, on several occasions, the students’ community of Ladakh had made demands for opening a Central University in Leh. The Union Government sanctioned two Central universities for the State of Jammu and Kashmir, but due to the state government’s total apathy, the city was denied a university.

Now  with  huge  expansion  of  the  Leh  town  and  non-existence of a Master Plan for the Leh town, serious lapses are happening from the Council side. If, at this crucial juncture of Leh town expansion, the LAHDC, Leh, does not earmark land in the vicinity of Leh town for educational centre, including establishment of universities and colleges, that would be a grave mistake. If a city like Srinagar or Jammu  can  host  dozens  of  universities  in  or  around  the  city  with similar  number  of  colleges,  why  should  there  not  be  a  single university within the reach of common students in Leh town? This idea has to be factored in while formulating a Master Plan for Leh town.

Therefore,  keeping  all  these  issues  in  view,  I  earnestly  like  to request you to allot a suitable land to the University of Jammu for the establishment of a University campus in Leh, at the earliest.

The  future  of  Ladakh  depends  on  the  LAHDC’s  planning  and

directions.

With warm regards,

Sincerely yours,

Nawang Tsering Shakspo

Director

Now the question is the issue of having a Master Plan for Leh town not ever visualised. If so, why the issue has not received the attention of the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council, Leh, since its formation in the year 1996?

According  to  Sonam  Dawa,  Retired  Chief  Engineer,  J&K Government, the Master Plan issue for Leh came for consideration on a couple of occasions during his service in the government as an engineer. For the first time, in the year 1975, Sonam Norboo, the then  Works  Minister  of  Jammu  and  Kashmir,  assigned  one  Mr. Pampuri, the Chief Town Planner of the State, for preparation of a master plan for Leh town. The minister had suggested for doing the same for Kargil as well, and also for places such as Khalsi and Drass.

Mr. Sonam Norboo was very particular about the issue and wanted the officer to complete the job in a specific time period. Sonam Dawa said that during his tenure as Superintending Engineer of Leh, the drawing reached his office but was not implemented.

Next,  with  the  imposition  of  Governor’s  rule  in  the  state, Governor  Jagmohan  Malhotra  assigned  one  Mr.  Naeem,  the  then Chief Town Planner of the State for drawing a master plan for Leh town. Accordingly, he initiated the work and even circulated the draft for issuance of notification etc., but with the coming of a popular Government  in  the  State,  the  plan  was  again  dumped  into  cold storage. After  that,  the  Indian  National Trust  for Art  and  Cultural Heritage (INTACH), a government of Indian sponsored agency, took the  job  of  drawing  a  master  plan  for  Leh  town. Accordingly,  a comprehensive plan was prepared, demarking various places such as  setting  up  of  institutional  and  cultural  as  well  as  recreational centres. According  to  Mr.  Dawa,  it  was  a  comprehensive  plan brought  in  several  volumes.  This  caught  the  attention  of  the  then LAHDC,  Leh,  but  was  never  implemented.  Since  the  INTACH drawing  came  with  the  emergence  of  Ladakh Autonomous  Hill Development Council in the year 1996, there were opportunities to implement the same, but were missed again. In the year 2011, the J&K Government, under the direction of Nawang Rigzin Jora, the Rural  Development  Minister  engaged  a  consultancy  firm  for preparing Leh Master Plan with a view to create and upgrade modern infrastructure facilities in a planned manner as Mr. Jora felt that the jurisdiction  of  Leh  town  needed  to  be  expanded  for  its  holistic development  especially  because  of  the  growing  tourist  sector,  the backbone of the economy of Leh.

In view of all this, it is high time to get a Master Plan and have it implemented in order to save the town from severe environmental hazards.