KOTGARH/SHIMLA, July 17:
As axes fell on hundreds of apple trees in Shimla’s heartland, the voices of small and marginal farmers have grown louder, demanding restoration of historical land rights once settled by the British over a century ago.
At the centre of this storm stands Hari Roach, an 88-year-old legendary apple grower from Kotgarh, who pioneered rootstock-based apple cultivation in Himachal.
Roach, flanked by former Theog MLA Rakesh Singha, Himachal Seb Utpadak Sangh, and Himachal Kisan Sabha leaders, handed over century-old land settlement records from 1914 to highlight how the farmers’ traditional rights over "Dehaat lands" and shamlat lands — cultivated commons — are being systematically ignored in the ongoing eviction drives.
“What the British had documented in 1914 and what was not reconfirmed in the 1984 settlement and is being bulldozed today.
The forest department is treating every farmer like an encroacher, while ignoring our hereditary rights,” said Roach, holding tattered records that he has preserved for decades.
At a jan manch style roundtable in Kotgarh, Roach emotionally recalled how past governments had recognized these lands for cultivation and homesteading.
“The rights over grazing, firewood, stone collection, and house-building existed much before independence,” he said.
Shimla “In fact, the government gave many farmers permission to build houses, crush stones, and plant apple orchards. Today, all that is being termed illegal.”
Singha, who is spearheading protests against the forcible felling of apple trees in Kotkhai, Kumarsain, Rohru, Jubbal and Chopal belts, said that "apple farmers, who once fed the state economy, are being uprooted in the name of forest protection, while no hearing is given to their history or rights."
According to the Sangh’s findings, many villages were settled and their land rights defined in British-era settlement reports such as the Shakram settlement of 1914, and revised again in 1984 partially.
However, during the forest demarcation exercises post-2001, many of these areas were incorrectly mapped as forest lands, bypassing residents and ignoring existing settlements.
“Thousands of farmers are now being served notices and losing homes and orchards.
Even basic utilities like electricity and water connections are being snapped without due process,” said Roach, who also revealed that nearly 56 houses in his area recently faced power cuts.
Documents presented during the meeting showed how settlement officials in the 1900s had clearly recorded these areas as village commons or 'ghasni' lands and allowed agricultural use.
However, lack of digitized records and inconsistent implementation of forest laws post-2000 has led to villagers being labelled as illegal occupants.
Several village heads, including Sandeep Pradhan of Thanedhar Panchayat, Kushal from Kotdhar, and Vikram from the local cooperative society, backed the demand for a halt to the eviction drive until a proper ground-level survey is done.
“Why is the government unwilling to conduct a rectification survey despite historical proofs?
We demand a transparent re-settlement and proper policy that protects the rights of bonafide cultivators,” said Rakesh Singha.
Criticizing the lack of consultation with local Panchayats, villagers said that “decisions are being taken over our heads.”
Many panchayat leaders were never informed nor their statements recorded before demolitions and tree felling began.
The farmers also questioned why their earlier settlement awards are not being considered in court cases and government decisions.
“What justice is this, where the very papers that gave us our homes and livelihoods are now ignored as worthless?” asked Roach.
The farmers warned that unless the eviction drive is halted and a legal mechanism is put in place to re-examine past settlement records, the entire apple belt of Shimla — from Kotgarh to Chopal — will rise in protest.
“We are not encroachers. We are the children of this soil, the same land which made Himachal’s apples world-famous.
The government must stop this injustice and honour the legacy of land rights we inherited, not erase it with bulldozers,” said an emotional Hari Roach.
The ball, as the villagers say, is now in Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu’s court. Will he intervene before the next tree falls?
For www.himbumail.com | © 2025
