In a major step towards controlling further erosion of the political base of Bharatiya Janata Party, the Jammu and Kashmir government on Friday created a separate division for the cold desert region of Ladakh.

The Ladakh region, which was so far under the administrative control of Kashmir’s divisional commissioner, will now have its own separate divisional commissioner and inspector general of police.

The step has come close on the heels of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Sunday visit to Leh and the resignation of the BJP MP Thuptsan Chhewang who accused the party of having failed to meet the election promises made by its leaders in the election campaign of 2014.

Several other senior functionaries of Ladakh had also recently resigned from their posts and also from the BJP that had for the first time, won the area’s Lok Sabha seat and also the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council.

A spokesman of the state government said that Governor Satya Pal Malik has approved the creation of a separate Administrative and Revenue Division for Ladakh. This division will comprise the cold desert region districts of Leh and Kargil with its headquarters at Leh.

The Government has also approved the creation of the posts of Divisional Commissioner (Ladakh), Leh and Inspector General of Police (Ladakh), Leh.

Further, a committee has been constituted under the chairmanship of Rohit Kansal, Principal Secretary, Planning, Development and Monitoring Department, to identify the posts of divisional level heads of various departments that may be required for the new Division, particularly their staffing pattern, role and responsibilities and proposed location of these offices.

The issue was discussed at various fora and there has been a persistent demand for the creation of Division for Ladakh from many organizations including the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Councils (LAHDC) Leh and Kargil.

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 and an inhospitable terrain which remains landlocked for nearly six months in a year. 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 as such, the spokesman said.

The people of Ladakh have, for a long time, been demanding effective local institutional arrangements which can help promote and accelerate the pace of development and equitable all-round growth and development having regard to its peculiar geo-climatic and topographic conditions, stimulate and seek the fullest participation of the local community in the decision-making process.