Dungkhag

A dungkhag (Dzongkha: དྲུང་ཁག་ drungkhak) is a sub-district of a dzongkhag (district) of Bhutan. The head of a dungkhag is a Dungpa. As of 2007, nine of the twenty dzongkhags had from one to three dungkhags, with sixteen dungkhags in total.

History

Under Bhutan's first government Act of decentralization, the Dzongkhag Yargay Tshogdu Chathrim of 2002 Dungpas were given a non-voting seat on the Dzongkhag Yargay Tshogdu.[1] Under the Local Government Act of 2007, dungkhags provided general administration and coordination for two or more gewogs. As a result, some gewogs within a given district were directly subordinate to dungkhags while others are directly subordinate to dzongkhags. Dungkhag Administrations guided and supported their constituent Gewog Administrations and implemented the decisions of the Dzongkhag Tshogdu. Dungpas were administrative executives that reported directly to the Dzongkhag administration. The Dungpa was empowered to attend the meetings of the Gewog Tshogdes as a non-voting member.[2]

In addition to administrative functions, Dungkhag Courts were codified under the Judicial Act of 2007 and Constitution of 2008 as a court of first instance within the judicial system of Bhutan. These courts are subordinate to Dzongkhag Courts.[3][4]

Under the Local Government Act of 2009, the administrative status of dungkhags is eschewed, and Dungpas are not specified to attend meetings of the Dzongkhag Tshogdu. The repeal of the Local Government Act of 2007 means that although dungkhags are no longer legal administrative divisions, they remain judicial and law enforcement jurisdictions under the Constitution.[4][5]

List of dungkhags

The internal territorial divisions of Bhutan, including dungkhags and their constituent gewogs, are subject to alteration by the Government of Bhutan through creation, transfer, and merger.[4][5] For example, in 2002, there were 199 gewogs in the 20 dzongkhags;[6] by 2005, there were 205.[7] In 2007, Lhamozingkha Dungkhag was formally transferred from Sarpang Dzongkhag to Dagana Dzongkhag,[8] affecting the town of Lhamozingkha and three constituent gewogs – Lhamozingkha, Deorali and Nichula (Zinchula) – that formed the westernmost part of Sarpang and became the southernmost part of Dagana.[9] Such changes are reflected in the list below.

As of 2007, there were 16 dungkhags among nine of twenty Bhutanese dzongkhags.[10][11]

Dzongkhag[8][11]	Dungkhag[8][10][11]	Gewog[8][11]
Chukha	Phuentsholing[12]	Dala
		Logchina
		Phuentsholing
Dagana	Dagapela	Dorona
		Goshi
		Trashiding
	Lhamoy Zingkha[13]	Lhamoy Zingkha
		Deorali
		Nichula
Pema Gatshel	Nganglam[14]	Dechenling
		Choekhorling
		Norbugang
Samdrup Jongkhar	Bhangtar[15]	Dalim
		Martshala
		Samrang
	Jomotsangkha[16][17]	Lauri
		Serthi
	Samdrup Choling[15][18]	Pemathang
		Phuntshothang
Samtse	Chengmari	Chengmari
		Chargharey
	Dorokha[19]	Denchukha
		Dorohka
		Dungtoe
	Sipsu	Bara
		Tendu
		Biru
		Lehereni
		Sipsu
Sarpang	Gelephu	Bhur
		Gelephu
		Sherzhong
		Taklai
Thimphu	Lingzhi[20]	Lingzhi
		Naro
		Soe
Trashigang	Sakteng	Merak
		Sakten
	Thrimshing[21]	Kangpara
		Thrimshing
	Wamrong[22]	Khaling
		Lumang
Zhemgang	Panbang[23]	Bjoka
		Goshing
		Ngangla
		Phangkhar

See also

• Dzongkhag (list)
• Gewog
  • Chiwog
    • Villages of Bhutan
• Dungkhag Court
• Local Government Act of Bhutan 2009

References

1. "Art. 3, § 7". Dzongkhag Yargay Tshogdu Chathrim 2002 (PDF). Government of Bhutan. 2007-06-14. Retrieved 2011-01-20.
2. "§§ 2, 166–171", Local Government Act of Bhutan 2007 (PDF), Government of Bhutan, 2007-07-31, archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-07-06, retrieved 2011-01-20
3. "Judicial Service Act of Bhutan 2007" (PDF). Government of Bhutan. 2007-02-20. Retrieved 2011-01-20.
4. "The Constitution of the Kingdom of Bhutan" (PDF). Government of Bhutan. 2008-07-18. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-07-06. Retrieved 2010-10-08.
5. "Local Government Act of Bhutan 2009" (PDF). Government of Bhutan. 2009-09-11. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-07-06. Retrieved 2011-01-20.
6. "[Ninth Five Year Plan] Part Three: Dzongkhag and Geog Health Sector" (PDF). Government of Bhutan, Ministry of Health. 2002. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-07-06. Retrieved 2011-01-22.
7. "The Kingdom of Bhutan – Administrative Units". Geo Hive. Retrieved 2011-01-22.
8. "Handing-Taking". Sarpang Dzongkhag Administration. 2008-03-19. Archived from the original on 2008-03-19. Retrieved 2011-01-23.
9. "Sarpang Dzongkhag Ninth Plan (2002-2007)" (PDF).
10. Law, Gwillim (2007). "Gewogs of Bhutan". Statoids online. Retrieved 2011-02-12.
11. "Administrative Units". Bhutan Peoples' Party. 2007-07-22. Retrieved 2011-02-12.
12. Chhetri, Pushkar (2010-05-15). "Illegal car importers sentenced". Bhutan Observer online. Archived from the original on 2011-01-19. Retrieved 2011-02-12.
13. Dahal, Rabi C. (2010-02-03). "Education reaches remote children". Bhutan Observer online. Archived from the original on 2012-07-30. Retrieved 2011-02-12.
14. Namgyal, Gembo (2010-05-11). "Farm road goes to Dechiling Gewog". Bhutan Observer online. Archived from the original on 2011-01-20. Retrieved 2011-02-12.
15. Dahal, Rabi C. (2010-02-12). "Branding khamti rice". Bhutan Observer online. Archived from the original on 2012-07-30. Retrieved 2011-02-12.
16. Dahal, Rabi C. (2010-02-23). "Road first, say Lauri and Serthi". Bhutan Observer online. Archived from the original on 2011-01-19. Retrieved 2011-02-13.
17. Dahal, Rabi C. (2010-05-07). "Contractor fined for breach of terms". Bhutan Observer online. Archived from the original on 2011-01-20. Retrieved 2011-02-12.
18. Dahal, Rabi C. (2010-02-19). "Ginger yield slumps in Pemathang". Bhutan Observer online. Archived from the original on 2012-07-30. Retrieved 2011-02-12.
19. Wangchuck, Jigme (2010-05-23). "BDFCL in Dorokha". Bhutan Observer online. Archived from the original on 2011-01-19. Retrieved 2011-02-12.
20. "Thimphu". Bhutan Men-Lha Adventures. 2009-04-17. Archived from the original on 2012-07-30. Retrieved 2011-02-12.
21. "Training for Community Forest Executive Members". Royal Society for Protection of Nature (Bhutan). 2010. Retrieved 2011-02-12.
22. Rinchen, Sonam (2008-01-19). "Teenage pregnancy: remote schools concerned". Bhutan Observer online. Archived from the original on 2011-01-20. Retrieved 2011-02-12.
23. Dahal, Rabi C. (2010-03-22). "Fallow fields and dying trees". Bhutan Observer online. Archived from the original on 2011-01-19. Retrieved 2011-02-12.