Shimla, July 29 A dramatic three-hour siege of the Himachal Pradesh Secretariat by protesting farmers finally ended late Tuesday afternoon after Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu invited a delegation of farmer leaders for talks.
But even as the protest dispersed, farmer resentment over land eviction, tree-cutting, and administrative apathy remained palpable.
The protest, led by CPI(M) leader and former legislator Rakesh Singha, Dr. Kuldeep Singh Tanwar (President, Himachal Kisan Sabha), and Sanjay Chauhan (former Shimla Mayor), saw hundreds of farmers braving the monsoon to demand an immediate halt to the sealing of homes and cutting of apple trees on disputed forest land.
CM Promises Relief, But Actions Awaited
During the talks inside the Secretariat, CM Sukhu assured the delegation that the government had directed all Deputy Commissioners and Divisional Forest Officers (DFOs) to act on the Supreme Court’s recent stay order carefully considering each case.
He added that the government was committed to protecting the interests of small and marginal farmers and would present its stand before the courts with due seriousness.CM Assures Support to Apple Growers' Demands
CM assured them of full support, saying the state had already approached the Supreme Court seeking relief for growers and no tree felling would be allowed post the stay order.
He directed an inquiry into violations in Karsog and Kullu.
The CM said he would take up the matter with the Union Environment Minister and draft a farmer-friendly policy after consultations.
He also pushed for land allocation (1–5 bighas) for disaster-hit families and urged BJP MPs to lobby for easing forest norms.
Rakesh Singha reminded the CM of previous SC rulings where eviction proceedings were halted and questioned why officers were still pursuing such actions.
He alleged, “DFOs and SDMs are issuing parallel orders, completely bypassing SC rulings and creating chaos on the ground. This is unjust and illegal.”
“Small Farmers Are Being Made Homeless in Rain”: Singha
Singha minced no words when he told the CM that the eviction drive disproportionately targeted small and poor farmers. “It is inhuman to render people homeless in this rain.
The land wrongly declared as forest after 1980 must be returned to the state so it can be allocated to genuine landless people,” he said.
Revenue Minister: “Sub-Committee Formed, But Awareness Missing”
Revenue Minister Jagat Singh Negi informed the delegation that the government had already constituted a high-level sub-committee under his chairmanship to look into Forest Rights Act (FRA) claims, and that orientation workshops had been held in Shimla, Mandi, and Dharamshala for DFOs and SDMs.
But farmer leaders disagreed.
Dr. Kuldeep Singh Tanwar pointed out, “Despite the Forest Rights Act being in force, not a single FRA claim has been accepted in Shimla district. Officers are unaware, or deliberately ignoring, their duties.”
Negi, however, clarified that the first step of the FRA process lies with Panchayats, not SDMs or DFOs. He said, “The panchayat-level committee comprising the Panchayat Pradhan, Secretary, and Revenue official has the power to process these claims. Farmers should start there.”
“Govt Must File Affidavit in Court”: Sanjay Chauhan
Sanjay Chauhan accused the local bureaucracy of running “parallel governance.” “Field officers like patwaris and SDMs, DFOs are ignoring court orders and acting arbitrarily.
The government must file a clear affidavit in the High Court, asserting that all evictions and sealing must stop,” he said.
Goverdhan Case Precedent: Forest Land Titles Need State-Led Review
Tanwar also reminded the CM that during the Goverdhan case hearings in the 1990s, the Supreme Court had suggested that forest land titles be reviewed state-wise through a Central Empowered Committee (CEC).
“The state must push for taking back the land wrongly labelled as forest between 1952 and 1996,” he said.
Negi assured that under this same Supreme Court suggestion, Himachal had already constituted a sub-committee and is about to submit its recommendations to the apex court.
Farmers: "We Are Homeless, Helpless, and Ignored"
Voices from the ground grew emotional. One small woman farmer Meera said, “I was once given five bighas. Today, I don't even have a spot to wash clothes. We are not beggars — we are asking for our land, our right to live with dignity, where people like us should go, the government should tell us? .”
Another ine from Chopal added, “Even our forest claims are rejected without being read. Officers say they don't have the rules, the forms, the orders or notification. Why are poor farmers always made to suffer in the name of law?”
Youth, Jobs, and Disaster: A System Failing the Marginalised
Sandeep Kumar from the Seb Utpadak Sangh Theog said: “This isn’t just about land. The youth have no jobs, villages are collapsing in floods, and the government is hiding behind files. When lakhs of students pass ITIs every year, where are the jobs? Why are bureaucrats never held accountable for scams or delay in justice, Why only farmers?”
The gathering turned into a scathing indictment of systemic neglect — from alleged employment scams and stalled police recruitments to the unaddressed disasters of the monsoon season.
“The state is crumbling. The government is breaking promises. And poor farmers — they’re building homes on four walls of hope, only to watch them bulldozed in the rain,” saud Singha. We are citizens of this country which is ruled by Constitution.
"Why Inhuman acts of sealing and eviction of poor people are been done. It is nothing less than a sadist act", he charged
Dialogue Open, But Trust Tattered
While the Chief Minister managed to defuse the protest by agreeing to dialogue, the siege of the Secretariat reflects a deeper wound — a growing trust deficit between farmers and the state machinery.
Farmer leaders have demanded that the government go beyond verbal assurances and present a solid affidavit in court, halting evictions and ensuring that FRA claims are processed fairly and state government gets right to allot land to the genuine people".
Until then, the discontent is far from over — just paused.
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