Sonam Wangchuk slams Ladakh administration's stand over institute's land lease cancellation

Activist and Himalayan Institute of Alternative Learning (HIAL) founding director Sonam Wangchuk and his wife, Gitanjali J Angmo, on Saturday targeted the Ladakh administration's defence of its decision to cancel the land allotment to the institute. Wangchuk shared a letter from the administration, which he said exposed “their own delays if not incompetence”.

Their response came after the Ladakh administration, in an affidavit filed before the high court of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh, attributed the cancellation to Wangchuk's “disregard for the law”, HT reported earlier. It said that the land allotment had automatically lapsed because the institute failed to pay the required dues or execute a lease deed.

The activist blamed the administration for delays in executing the lease deed for land allotted to his institute in Leh. He shared a letter dated February 19, 2021, to support his claim.

The activist said he had repeatedly approached officials to get the lease deed executed on time. He said that he had made five written appeals, visited the authorities 15 times and made 30 phone calls over the matter.

“Whenever I raise my voice about injustices in Ladakh, the government media machinery gets activated to target me and our institute HIAL's land lease. Please take the message, don't kill the messenger," Wangchuk said in a post on X.

The letter, shared by Wangchuk, read: “...in the wake of the formation of the new UT and the pandemic, the execution of the lease deed is under process as we are awaiting the New Lease Policy to be finalised. This delay is across board for all institutions, including several government institutions, however you may continue the construction activities of your institution on the allotted land.”

The activist said that “a quick look at this letter shows their own delays, if not incompetence.”

Gitanjali Angmo, co-founder of HIAL, also slammed the administration, describing its handling of the matter as “abysmal governance” and a “bureaucratic absurdity elevated to an art form”.

She posted on X, “Perhaps they should first read their own letters before making a public spectacle of themselves…Four dates. Written correspondence. Official signatures and stamps. Their own admissions. And now they have the gall to make it appear that HIAL was responsible for the delay!”

Gitanjali said HIAL had spent years working to establish an educational institution focused on the challenges faced by the Himalayan region. “Instead of enabling such work, the administration appears determined to bury it beneath paperwork, contradictions and public accusations.”

The affidavit was filed by Leh deputy commissioner and LAHDC chief executive officer Romil Singh Donk in response to HIAL’s writ petition challenging the August 21, 2025, order cancelling the land allotment.

The administration described the petition as “misconceived, devoid of merit, and barred by delay and laches”. It said the original allotment order, issued on May 5, 2018, was conditional and clearly stated that the lease would be cancelled if the institute failed to execute the deed within a year.

It also said that HIAL had not paid any land premium or ground rent and had failed to obtain formal possession of the land through the Tehsildar, as required.

The affidavit cited an October 2026 certification by Ladakh’s higher education department stating that HIAL was not a recognised university and that its courses were not affiliated with the University of Ladakh or any other statutory body. The administration said this violated the main objective behind establishing an alternative university.

The affidavit also referred to the violent protests in Leh in September 2025, which led to the Union home ministry’s intervention and Wangchuk’s brief detention under the National Security Act before the detention order was revoked in March 2026. The administration cited these events as part of what it described as a pattern of public order disruptions.