Chief Secretary Dr. Pawan Kotwal chairs a meeting to review the progress of the Deregulation/Reduction of Compliance Burden measures in Ladakh.

Chief Secretary Dr. Pawan Kotwal chairs a meeting to review the progress of the Deregulation/Reduction of Compliance Burden measures in Ladakh.
Leh August 1,2025: Chief Secretary of the Union Territory of Ladakh, Dr. Pawan Kotwal, chaired a meeting in Leh to review the progress on deregulation and reduction of compliance burden measures. These initiatives were received from the task force for reconsideration across eight identified priority areas aimed at improving ease of doing business in the region.
During the meeting, Secretary of Industries & Commerce and Animal Husbandry Department, Sh. P.T. Rudra Goud, gave a comprehensive presentation highlighting the suggestions received from the Taskforce. These included adopting a flexible zoning framework for mixed-use development, amending building regulations to ease industrial development, increasing the role of empanelled third parties in approvals and inspections, streamlining factory and trade license processes, and expediting utility connections through a fully online system.
Dr. Kotwal emphasized the importance of these measures, noting that Special Cabinet Secretary K.K. Pathak had recently suggested Ladakh’s systems should aim to surpass the benchmarks set by other states. The Chief Secretary further stressed minimizing compliance barriers in areas such as housing, power, connectivity, and registration of hotels and lodges. He highlighted that people should not face unnecessary bureaucratic hurdles and insisted on the simplification of building bylaws.
Administrative Secretary Sh. Bhupesh Chaudhary recommended that all departments integrate the suggested reforms into the official online portal by August 7 and provide updated inputs to ensure timely implementation.
Dr. Kotwal concluded the meeting by directing all departments to submit detailed progress reports and reform updates to the Administrative Secretary ahead of the deadline.
The meeting was attended by Principal Secretary Labour & Employment Sh. Sanjeev Khirwar; Administrative Secretaries Sh. Vikram Malik (PDD), Smt. Shashanka Ala (Rural Development), Sh. Michael D’Souza (PWD), Sh. Rahul Sharma (PHE), Sh. Bhupesh Chaudhary (Agriculture & Horticulture), and other key officials including Directors, Chief Engineers, Technical Officers from NIC, and the PMU team from the Tourism Department.