Leh district

Leh district
District of Ladakh administered by India
View of Leh Town
Interactive map of Leh district
A map showing Indian-administered Ladakh (shaded in tan in the disputed Kashmir region
Coordinates (Leh): 33°38′N 77°46′E / 33.633°N 77.767°E / 33.633; 77.767
Administering countryIndia
Union TerritoryLadakh
HeadquartersLeh
Established1 July 1979
HeadquartersLeh
TehsilsLeh, Khaltsi, Nyoma, Kharu, Diskit Nubra, Saspol, Durbuk and Sumoor
Government
  Deputy CommissionerMr. Santosh Sukhadeve IAS
  Chief Executive CouncillorTashi Gyalson, BJP
  Lok Sabha ConstituencyLadakh
  MPMohmad Haneefa
Area
  Total
45,110 km2 (17,420 sq mi)
Population
 (2011)
  Total
133,487
  Density3.0/km2 (7.7/sq mi)
  Urban
45,671
Demographics
  Literacy77.2%
  Sex ratio690 / 1000
Languages
  OfficialHindi, English
  SpokenLadakhi, Balti, Brokskat, Tibetan, Hindi/Urdu
Time zoneUTC+05:30 (IST)
Vehicle registrationJK 10 (till 2019) LA-02
Websiteleh.nic.in

Leh district is a district in Indian-administered Ladakh in the disputed Kashmir-region. Ladakh is an Indian-administered union territory. With an area of 45,110 km2, it is the second largest district in the country, second only to Kutch. It is bounded on the north by Gilgit-Baltistan's Kharmang and Ghanche districts and Xinjiang's Kashgar Prefecture and Hotan Prefecture, to which it connects via the historic Karakoram Pass. Aksai Chin and Tibet are to the east, Kargil district to the west, and Lahul and Spiti to the south. The district headquarters is in Leh. It lies between 32 and 36 degree north latitude and 75 to 80 degree east longitude.

All of Ladakh was under the administration of Leh until 1 July 1979, when the Kargil and Leh administrative districts were created. Religion has been a source of grievance between Buddhists and Muslims since the late 20th century and contributed to this division.

In 2017, the district was declared a tobacco-free zone. The Directorate of Health Services Kashmir, under the National Tobacco Control Programme, began working towards the designation early in 2017 and the status was declared in August. Rehana Kousar (in-charge, NTCP, Kashmir) said that work was done with civil society, religious and women's groups and that a "major success was achieved by the involvement of women in the anti-tobacco campaign."

In August 2019, the Parliament of India passed the act that contained provisions to make Leh a district of the new union territory of Ladakh, which was formed 31 October 2019.