Sankoo becomes Ladakh’s eighth district, carved out of Kargil
Why in the news
On October 16, 2026, the Ladakh administration declared Sankoo the Union Territory’s eighth district after Lieutenant Governor V K Saxena cleared the proposal.
Key facts
- Sankoo is drawn from the Kargil district area, meeting a demand its residents had raised for years.
- Sankoo will also have its own Autonomous Hill Development Council; council polls will follow a formal notification.
- The jurisdiction of LAHDC Kargil has been changed to leave out the tehsils and revenue villages that now form Sankoo.
- Earlier, on April 27, 2026, the LG had approved five new districts, taking Ladakh from two to seven districts.
| Phase | Districts | Total |
|---|---|---|
| Original | Leh, Kargil | 2 |
| April 27, 2026 | Sham, Nubra, Changthang, Zanskar, Drass | 7 |
| October 16, 2026 | Sankoo | 8 |
About Ladakh’s district reorganisation
The five districts created in April 2026 had already been cleared by the Ministry of Home Affairs in August 2024. With Sankoo, the Kargil region gets a second hill council, as LAHDC Kargil’s area has been trimmed to exclude the new district. Elections to the new council will be held after a formal notification.
Exam angle
- Ladakh now has eight districts; Sankoo is the newest.
- Sankoo gets its own Autonomous Hill Development Council, separate from LAHDC Kargil.
- The current Lt Governor of Ladakh is V K Saxena.