Court reaffirms strict deadlines for eviction from forest land, says no leniency will be tolerated
TNR News Network
SHIMLA:
The Himachal Pradesh High Court has reiterated its uncompromising stance on the removal of illegal encroachments from forest land, making it clear that evictions must proceed as per earlier directives and no delay will be accepted.
The division bench of Justice Vivek Singh Thakur and Justice Bipin Chander Negi emphasised that forest land encroachers must be evicted by October 31, as previously ordered.
A large number of apple orchardists in Shimla district, particularly in Kotkhai, Jubbal and Rohru subdivisions, are likely to be affected by the decision.
No regularisation under 2002 policy, says High Court
The high court observed that the state’s 2002 policy for regularising encroachments does not extend to forest land, rendering any such claims invalid. In a strongly worded judgment, the bench stated that illegal occupants attempting to seek protection under the now-defunct policy have no legal grounds to do so.
The bench referred to its own earlier ruling on August 5, in the Poonam Gupta vs. State of HP case, which had already struck down the policy’s applicability to forest areas.
Evidence submitted by the Deputy Commissioner (Shimla) and the Chief Conservator of Forests (Shimla) confirmed that encroachments had indeed occurred on designated forest land. An affidavit by the DC highlighted that of the 238 cases from Kotkhai’s Ratnari and Baghi forest beats, 75 were found to be illegal occupations on government land, spanning over 33 hectares.
Orders swift evictions, report due by Nov 26
The High Court has instructed the state government to expedite eviction proceedings in compliance with the set timeline and under the supervision of the Additional Chief Secretary (Revenue and Forests).
Both the Deputy Commissioner of Shimla and the Forest Officer of Theog have been directed to submit a detailed action report on the progress of evictions by November 26. The next hearing in the matter is scheduled for December 9.
