Apple Growers Meet CM, Demand Protection Against Land Evictions following High Court order that will hit poor farmers.
Shimla, 25 August 2024:A delegation from the Himachal Pradesh Apple Growers Association, led by State President Rakesh Singha and member Sanjay Chauhan, met Chief Minister Thakur Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu today to voice their concerns over the ongoing land eviction process.
Around 350 farmers participated in the meeting, seeking urgent intervention from the government.
The delegation informed the CM that following a High Court order, eviction proceedings have begun against farmers occupying land, which has put the livelihoods of thousands of families across the state in jeopardy.
"Most of these families are poor, with many having built homes or farmed the land to support themselves," said Rakesh Singha. "If these evictions continue, it will snatch away their shelter and means of livelihood."
They also highlighted the impact of the Forest Conservation Act, 1980, which transferred all forest land rights from the state to the central government, leaving only about 14% of the total land with farmers.
"Before 1980, the state government had the authority to allot forest and government land for farming or housing, but this is no longer possible," added Sanjay Chauhan.
The apple growers reminded the CM of the 2002 policy introduced by the then-state government to regularize land under farmers' possession by amending the Land Revenue Act with Section 163(A). Despite nearly 1,66,000 applications being filed across the state, no concrete steps have been taken by any government since then to address this issue.
The delegation demanded that the state government pass a resolution in the upcoming Assembly session, urging the central government to formulate a solid policy for regularizing farmers' occupied land.
They also called for an amendment to the Forest Conservation Act, 1980, similar to the provisions made in December 2023 that allowed large industrial and corporate houses to use forest land for industries and mining.
"If industries can be given thousands of bighas, why can't poor farmers be allotted at least 5 bighas of land for farming?" questioned Singha.
Additionally, they pushed for action under the *Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006*, which has yet to benefit the majority of the state's population.
The delegation urged the government to file an affidavit in the High Court to nullify the eviction orders, similar to the stays obtained in 2015 and 2019 by previous governments.
Chief Minister Sukhu, acknowledging the seriousness of the issue, assured the delegation that the government would take all possible legal steps to protect the livelihoods of the affected families.
He also promised to form a committee headed by the Revenue and Law Minister to develop a robust policy for regularizing land occupied by farmers. Additionally, he assured legal intervention in the High Court as per the advice of the legal team.
"We understand the gravity of the situation and are committed to taking all necessary steps to protect the interests of our farmers," said CM Sukhu.
