Ladakh (HIAL), fights a land allotment cancellation in court, the institute has landed in fresh trouble While climate activist Sonam Wangchuk’s Himalayan Institute of Alternatives. The Ladakh administration has issued a notice to the school asking it to stop classes and other activities at Desert Flower School in Leh, alleging that the school began functioning without necessary clearances.
However, it claimed that classes and other activities had already started at the school without the necessary consent or approval from the relevant authorities concerned. The administration said Angmo had written to the Leh Deputy Commissioner on September 22 seeking a no-objection certificate (NOC) or clearance for the proposed members of the managing committee of Desert Flower School at Phyang, under the HIAL ecosystem. The case dates back to May 2018, when HIAL was allotted 1,076 kanals and one marla of land at Phyang Thang to establish an alternative university focused on sustainable development in the Himalayan region. The allotment was proposed for a 40-year lease, subject to conditions. On August 21, 2025, the Ladakh administration cancelled it, alleging that the institute had neither completed the lease formalities nor established the university for which the land was allotted. The administration also pointed to an October 2026 certification from Ladakh’s Higher Education Department that HIAL was not a recognised university and that its courses lacked statutory affiliation.
