Eastern West Khasi Hills district is an administrative district in the state of Meghalaya in northeastern India. It was created by carving out a portion of the erstwhile West Khasi Hills district, taking the total number of districts in Meghalaya to twelve. The district lies within the Khasi Hills region, which is inhabited predominantly by the Khasi people.
| Country | India |
|---|---|
| State | Meghalaya |
| Region | Khasi Hills |
| Parent district | West Khasi Hills district |
| Headquarters | Mairang |
Meghalaya's districts are organised broadly along the lines of the state's three principal communities — the Khasi, the Jaintia and the Garo. The Khasi Hills, occupying the central portion of the state, were historically administered as a single district before being subdivided multiple times to bring administration closer to the people. Eastern West Khasi Hills emerged from one such reorganisation of the West Khasi Hills district.
The district headquarters is located at Mairang, a town that has long served as a sub-divisional centre in the Khasi Hills. The district is administered by a Deputy Commissioner under the Government of Meghalaya, with traditional Khasi institutions, including the syiemship system recognised under the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution of India and the Khasi Hills Autonomous District Council, continuing to play a role in local governance.
The district lies on the western flank of the Khasi Hills plateau. Like much of Meghalaya, the terrain is characterised by rolling hills, deep valleys, pine forests and high rainfall, with rivers draining largely southward towards the plains of Bangladesh. The economy of the region is predominantly agrarian, with paddy, potato, maize and horticultural produce being important crops, alongside small-scale trade centred on Mairang.
The creation of Eastern West Khasi Hills as a distinct district was intended to improve administrative reach in areas that had earlier been at considerable distance from the West Khasi Hills district headquarters at Nongstoin. It is part of a broader pattern in Meghalaya of carving out smaller districts to bring delivery of public services closer to remote rural populations.