Chief Secretary pushes Unified Digital Governance, Green Data Centre vision for Ladakh

Kundra chairs LeGA Board meeting, calls for cloud-based disaster recovery, unified citizen portal, GIS-powered governance and sustainable digital infrastructure

LEH: Chief Secretary of the Union Territory of Ladakh, Ashish Kundra, on Thursday chaired the third meeting of the Board of Governance of the Ladakh e-Governance Agency (LeGA), outlining an ambitious roadmap for a secure, integrated and citizen-centric digital governance ecosystem while directing officials to accelerate key technology-driven initiatives across the Union Territory.

The meeting reviewed LeGA’s financial position, ongoing projects, digital transformation initiatives and future strategy, with the Chief Secretary emphasising that digital governance must be anchored in innovation, cyber security, real-time data integration, sustainability and seamless public service delivery.

Secretary, Information Technology, Shashanka Ala, presented a detailed overview of LeGA’s progress, including its corpus fund, financial utilisation, grant-in-aid proposals, ongoing projects and the proposed introduction of inter-departmental cost recovery charges for hosting services at the Ladakh State Data Centre (LSDC).

Reviewing the proposals, Kundra stressed the need to strengthen LeGA as the Union Territory’s nodal agency for Information Technology and e-Governance initiatives. He directed the IT Department to leverage Central Sector Schemes related to Information and Communication Technology (ICT) to secure sustainable funding and advised that consultancy services, technical expertise and project implementation be routed through LeGA to build institutional capacity.

A major focus of the meeting was strengthening Ladakh’s digital infrastructure. The Chief Secretary called for the establishment of a cloud-based Disaster Recovery system to ensure uninterrupted government services and safeguard critical data. He directed the department to prepare a comprehensive proposal for the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) under the Centre of Excellence framework, underscoring that cyber security and resilient digital infrastructure are indispensable for modern governance.

In a significant push towards sustainable technology, Kundra proposed the development of a Green Data Centre powered by renewable energy, suggesting that Zanskar could be explored as a potential location owing to its favourable climatic conditions. He also directed officials to study successful Green Data Centre models implemented in other States and Union Territories before finalising the project.

The Board also reviewed procurement processes for IT infrastructure, with the Chief Secretary instructing the department to adopt national best practices to ensure transparency, efficiency and quality in project execution. He also assessed the functioning of the Project Management Unit (PMU), seeking details of its organisational structure, manpower deployment and operational responsibilities.

A detailed presentation showcased several flagship Digital Ladakh initiatives, including the Tourism Portal, Brand Ladakh Portal, Aspirational Ladakh Portal, Employment Portal, Common Departmental Portal, the proposed Pashmina e-Commerce Portal and WhatsApp-based citizen services.

While reviewing the Tourism Portal, Kundra examined user registrations, district-wise participation, tourism service providers, homestay and hotel registrations, application approvals and pending cases. He directed officials to incorporate comprehensive analytics and real-time dashboards to strengthen monitoring and evidence-based policy formulation.

The Chief Secretary also called for the Aspirational Ladakh Portal to be integrated with GIS-based spatial mapping covering all seven districts, enabling real-time visualisation of developmental indicators, district rankings and sectoral performance through API-based data integration instead of manual updates.

To improve access to employment opportunities, he directed the integration of recruitment information from all government departments, including the Ladakh Subordinate Services Staff Selection Board (LSSSSB) and district administrations, into a single Employment Portal, making it a one-stop platform for job seekers across Ladakh.

Emphasising seamless public service delivery, Kundra instructed the IT Department to develop a unified citizen portal bringing together all Government-to-Citizen (G2C) services, online applications, payment gateways, procurement systems and digital service platforms under one interface.

Recognising the growing role of digital communication in governance, he also called for a standardised WhatsApp-based communication framework for the UT Administration in coordination with the Department of Information and Public Relations. The proposed system would facilitate the dissemination of verified government advisories, public information and citizen-centric messages through a centralised platform while maintaining standardised databases and a unified archival system for official communications.

Appreciating the progress made by the Information Technology Department, the Chief Secretary reiterated that Ladakh’s digital transformation should be driven by secure infrastructure, innovation, environmental sustainability and citizen convenience, with LeGA playing a pivotal role in shaping the Union Territory’s digital future.

The meeting was attended by Secretary, Planning, Development and Monitoring, Himanshu Gupta; Secretary, Information Technology, Shashanka Ala; Senior Consultant, Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, Pankaj; Joint Director, Finance, and senior officers of the Information Technology Department, LeGA and other concerned departments.