KDA, LAB Slam Ladakh Govt for Cancelling Land to Sonam Wangchuk’s Institute

SRINAGAR: The Ladakh administration defended its decision to cancel land allotted to climate activist Sonam Wangchuk’s Himalayan Institute of Alternative Learning (HIAL), saying the move was made strictly in line with legal provisions after the institute failed to establish a university as proposed.

A recent order issued by Leh Deputy Commissioner Romil Singh Donk stated that the land measuring 1,076 kanals and 1 marla (over 53 hectares) in Phyang, leased to HIAL in 2018 for 40 years, “stands escheated to the state” since no university had been established. The order added that no lease agreement had been executed and no formal handover of the land had taken place.

Chief Secretary Pawan Kotwal, flanked by senior officers, said the lease was revoked purely due to non-utilisation. “This is a unique case where the lease was cancelled only due to non-utilisation for the proposed university,” he said. “No land will be taken back from people using state or barren land for agriculture or housing, as long as documents are proper.” He also announced a committee to streamline land records in the Union Territory.

The move came a day after Wangchuk, also an executive member of the Leh Apex Body (LAB), accused the administration of a “witch-hunt” and vowed to challenge the decision in court.

Political backlash quickly followed, with the Kargil Democratic Alliance (KDA) warning of mass protests. KDA co-chairman Asgar Ali Karbalai told reporters that the cancellation was viewed as “an attempt to browbeat the Ladakh leadership fighting for statehood and extension of the sixth schedule”. He added that both KDA and LAB remain committed to dialogue with the Ministry of Home Affairs but accused the Centre of “delaying tactics” and expressed concern over the growing deployment of CRPF personnel in the region.

Karbalai cautioned that any move to pressure Ladakh’s leadership would not be tolerated. “We strongly condemn this arm-twisting and warn the administration to stop such tactics before the situation gets out of control,” he said, adding that KDA and LAB would meet again after the Dalai Lama’s return to Ladakh to decide on future action.

Meanwhile, the administration said it was prioritising youth employment, with 534 posts advertised in July and over 1.5 lakh applications received. The recruitment drive, officials said, would focus on non-gazetted posts.