Srinagar, June 29:  The President of India has empowered the Lieutenant Governor of Ladakh Union Territory to exercise the powers of appropriate government under the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013.

The Union Home Ministry has issued a notification to empower the LG Ladakh to discharge functions of the appropriate under the central land acquisition law.

“In pursuance of clause (1) of article 239 of the Constitution, the President hereby directs that the Lieutenant Governor of the Union territory of Ladakh shall, subject to the control of the President and until further orders, also exercise the powers and discharge the functions of the appropriate Government under the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013 (30 of 2013) within the said Union territory,” reads the notification.

The powers were delegated to the LG because under the land acquisition law, powers of acquiring land in UTs are vested with the central government.

After reorganization of the erstwhile state of Jammu & Kashmir, the central land acquisition Act was amended in March 2020 through section 96 of Jammu and Kashmir Reorganization Act-2019 to empower the government of Jammu and Kashmir to acquire land for projects within the UT-