Shimla, March 2:
After years of uncertainty, fear of eviction and endless court battles, small and marginal farmers in Himachal Pradesh finally have a reason to breathe easy.
The state government has decided to frame a clear policy on encroachment of forest land, in line with the directions of the Supreme Court of India, a move that could bring long-awaited relief to thousands living under the shadow of the law.
Presiding over a high-level meeting on Monday, Revenue and Horticulture Minister Jagat Singh Negi said the policy would reflect the spirit of a welfare state while fully complying with Supreme Court directives.
The government, he asserted, was committed to striking a “fair balance between protecting forest land and safeguarding people’s interests.”
For decades, small farmers cultivating tiny patches of land — often inherited and used for survival farming — have been branded as “encroachers”, lumped together with commercial land grabbers.
Notices, demolitions and legal ambiguity have pushed many to the brink. The government’s decision to finally frame a structured policy is being seen as a course correction long demanded by grassroots groups.
Negi said a Sub-Committee headed by Additional Secretary (Revenue) Anil Chauhan, with officers from the Forest and Law Departments, has been asked to examine Supreme Court guidelines and submit a draft within a week — a tight timeline that signals urgency.
However, the real test lies ahead.
While marginal farmers hope the policy will recognise ground realities, a bigger and more uncomfortable question hangs in the air: what about large-scale encroachers?
Across the state, prime forest land has allegedly been taken over by influential individuals, commercial establishments and resort projects — often with political backing and administrative silence.
Past experience has shown that enforcement tends to be harsh on the weak and soft on the powerful.
Critics warn that unless the new policy clearly distinguishes between subsistence cultivation and profit-driven land grabbing, it risks becoming yet another shield for the well-connected.
Senior officers including Additional Chief Secretary Kamlesh Kumar Pant, PCCF (HoFF) Sanjay Sood, and officials from the Revenue, Forest and Law Departments attended the meeting, underlining the seriousness of the exercise.
But policy intent alone will not satisfy those who have watched bulldozers spare big names while uprooting poor families.
As the draft policy takes shape, the spotlight will be on whether the government has the political will to take on big encroachers, or cut their holdings to size.
