On 27 April 2026, Ladakh approved the creation of five new districts, taking the total number of districts in the Union Territory from two to seven. The new districts are Sham, Nubra, Changthang, Zanskar and Drass.
District Reorganisation in Ladakh
Three of the new districts, Nubra, Sham and Changthang, have been carved out of Leh district. Zanskar and Drass have been created from Kargil district. The headquarters have been fixed at Diskit for Nubra, Khaltse for Sham, Nyoma for Changthang, Padum for Zanskar and Drass-Ranbirpura for Drass.
Administrative Structure
Ladakh became a Union Territory on 31 October 2019 after the reorganisation of the former State of Jammu and Kashmir. The Union Territory has no legislative assembly and is administered by a Lieutenant Governor under the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019.
District as an Administrative Unit
A district is the basic administrative unit in India for revenue administration, law and order, and delivery of public services. District boundaries are used for planning, census administration, and implementation of government programmes.
Territorial and Revenue Changes
The April 2026 reorganisation also defines new territorial limits and a revised distribution of revenue villages across all seven districts. Revenue villages are the smallest recognised units for land and revenue records in India.
Approval Process
The creation of the new districts followed approval by the Ministry of Home Affairs in August 2024. In December 2025, the Ladakh administration stated that financial approval from the Union Finance Ministry and official approval from the Union Home Ministry were awaited for implementation. Sham, Nubra, Changthang, Zanskar and Drass are now the five new districts of Ladakh. Diskit, Khaltse, Nyoma, Padum and Drass-Ranbirpura are the notified district headquarters.
Last Modified: April 27, 2026