Dungkhag


A dungkhag is a sub-district of a dzongkhag 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. 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.
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.
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.

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. For example, in 2002, there were 199 gewogs in the 20 dzongkhags; by 2005, there were 205. In 2007, Lhamozingkha Dungkhag was formally transferred from Sarpang Dzongkhag to Dagana Dzongkhag, affecting the town of Lhamozingkha and three constituent gewogs – Lhamozingkha, Deorali and Nichula – that formed the westernmost part of Sarpang and became the southernmost part of Dagana. Such changes are reflected in the list below.
As of 2007, there were 16 dungkhags among nine of twenty Bhutanese dzongkhags.
DzongkhagDungkhagGewog
Chukha
PhuentsholingDala
Chukha
PhuentsholingLogchina
Chukha
PhuentsholingPhuentsholing
Dagana
DagapelaDorona
Dagana
DagapelaGoshi
Dagana
DagapelaTrashiding
Dagana
Lhamoy ZingkhaLhamoy Zingkha
Dagana
Lhamoy ZingkhaDeorali
Dagana
Lhamoy ZingkhaNichula
Pema Gatshel
NganglamDechenling
Pema Gatshel
NganglamChoekhorling
Pema Gatshel
NganglamNorbugang
Samdrup Jongkhar
BhangtarDalim
Samdrup Jongkhar
BhangtarMartshala
Samdrup Jongkhar
BhangtarSamrang
Samdrup Jongkhar
JomotsangkhaLauri
Samdrup Jongkhar
JomotsangkhaSerthi
Samdrup Jongkhar
Samdrup CholingPemathang
Samdrup Jongkhar
Samdrup CholingPhuntshothang
Samtse
ChengmariChengmari
Samtse
ChengmariChargharey
Samtse
DorokhaDenchukha
Samtse
DorokhaDorohka
Samtse
DorokhaDungtoe
Samtse
SipsuBara
Samtse
SipsuTendu
Samtse
SipsuBiru
Samtse
SipsuLehereni
Samtse
SipsuSipsu
Sarpang
GelephuBhur
Sarpang
GelephuGelephu
Sarpang
GelephuSherzhong
Sarpang
GelephuTaklai
Thimphu
LingzhiLingzhi
Thimphu
LingzhiNaro
Thimphu
LingzhiSoe
Trashigang
SaktengMerak
Trashigang
SaktengSakten
Trashigang
ThrimshingKangpara
Trashigang
ThrimshingThrimshing
Trashigang
WamrongKhaling
Trashigang
WamrongLumang
Zhemgang
PanbangBjoka
Zhemgang
PanbangGoshing
Zhemgang
PanbangNgangla
Zhemgang
PanbangPhangkhar