Sonam Wangchuk and Gitanjali Angmo dismissed the allegations that HIAL had not met the requirements needed to complete the transfer of the lease deed, asserting that the administration’s policy for executing such a lease “continues to remain incomplete.” (Express Photo by Praveen Khanna)A day after the Ladakh administration “advised” them to “maintain status quo” over the operations of their school, Gitanjali Angmo, educator and wife of climate activist Sonam Wangchuk, said that the school will continue to function. She also lashed out at the administration for its “witch-hunt” against the Himalayan Institute of Alternatives, Ladakh (HIAL).Sonam Wangchuk and Gitanjali Angmo dismissed the allegations that HIAL had not met the requirements needed to complete the transfer of the lease deed, asserting that the administration’s policy for executing such a lease “continues to remain incomplete.”“We got a notice from them in August last year regarding the signing of the lease. We had sent them five letters, visited the office and called several times. However, their lease policy was not ready, and it is still not ready. We had been given assurances from the DC’s office as well as the Assistant Commissioner Revenue that though the lease has not been signed, we’re giving you a no-objection certificate that we could continue construction,” Angmo said Wednesday.She said that construction on the land began after this, adding that after Wangchuk was released from jail in March this year, “we were told that the remaining issues will be resolved. However, when this did not happen, HIAL filed a petition in the High Court of J&K and Ladakh.”“On September 11, the HC told the UT administration that they cannot create third-party rights on this land,” Angmo said, adding that HIAL “could continue” its activities till the matter is resolved in court.Construction for HIAL’s latest venture, the Desert Flower School, began in 2023, funded by Public Sector Undertakings, Angmo said. “They have done their due diligence and checked all compliances before giving us funding,” she said.The school began its kindergarten classes on November 2 this year and will function as a not-for-profit entity. “This is HIAL’s fifth venture. It is not for profit. This was a demand of several parents who wanted to see a school like this come up in Ladakh,” Sonam Wangchuk, who also addressed the press alongside Angmo, said Wednesday.Story continues below this adThey also said that the school was ready last year and teachers were hired for the project, but because of the events of September 2025, the project was kept in abeyance. “They could have sent us this notice a month or two back when we had not begun classes. After classes have started and students have been enrolled, why issue objections now,” Wangchuk asked.The administration had told HIAL that the case pertaining to the execution of the lease deed for the school was sub judice and that “it has been brought to the notice that you are commencing classes and other activities at Desert Flower School, HIAL without taking proper consent/clearances or necessary approval from the concerned authorities.”In October, the Leh Deputy Commissioner had told the court that the sanction to grant lease of land to Wangchuk was conditional and that he failed to comply with the conditions of the lease, including “payment of premium ground rent.”Both Wangchuk and Angmo dismissed these allegations, stating that the delay in the transfer of land had been caused by the administration itself, despite several reminders from HIAL.Naveed Iqbal is a Senior Assistant Editor at The Indian Express, and reports from Jammu and Kashmir.... Read More