What happened
On June 25, 2026, Ladakh Lieutenant Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena ordered a major restructuring of the Finance Department, transferring Finance Secretary L Franklin, the Joint Director Finance, Chief Accounts Officers, Accounts Officers, and nearly two dozen others — following a review meeting held on June 16 where the LG expressed strong displeasure. The LG observed that 'repeated, unreasonable queries were being raised at different levels, leading to huge pendency,' and noted 'a complete lack of oversight at the secretary level.' The restructuring was aimed at eliminating duplication of scrutiny by assigning internal finance officers to specific departments. Saxena then directed the Chief Secretary to ensure timely disposal of files and to fix responsibility in cases of undue delay. The Finance Department, which had been slow to approve projects due to too many queries, will now be staffed by officers unfamiliar with the pending files — who will require time to learn the cases before they can raise fewer queries. No timeline was given for clearing the existing backlog.