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yesterday

Supreme Court Stay Halts Felling of Himachal Apple Orchards as Farmers Protest

The government has launched inquiries into possible violations following the Supreme Court stay, seeking stakeholder input on land regularisation and rehabilitation guidelines.

Panwar said the HC in its July 2 order directed the forest department to remove the apple orchards and plant forest species in their place, with costs ordered to be recovered from encroachers as arrears of land revenue. (File)

Overview

  • The Supreme Court on July 28 put a hold on a Himachal Pradesh High Court order directing the removal of fruit-bearing orchards from encroached forest land.
  • Hundreds of apple growers backed by the Himachal Kisan Sabha and Seb Utpadak Sangh demonstrated at the Shimla Secretariat demanding small-plot regularisation and safeguards for their livelihoods.
  • Growers estimate that about 4,500 trees have already been felled, translating to a loss of 35,000–40,000 apple boxes and ₹400–500 crore in income.
  • Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu has assured no further tree felling, ordered probes into reported post-order removals and pledged to raise the issue with the Union environment minister.
  • The state plans to seek Union environment ministry input on a revised rehabilitation policy and consider allocating between one and five bighas of land to landless or displaced cultivators.