Shimla. Lakhs of apple growers of Himachal Pradesh have got a big relief from the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court on Tuesday canceled the major decision of the Himachal Pradesh High Court. The High Court had given instructions to remove fruit orchards from encroached areas on forest land. Now the top court has directed the state government to send a proposal to the central government to help the marginalized classes and landless people.
A bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi said that the High Court has committed an error by passing such an order, which has far-reaching and serious consequences and which affects the marginalized sections of the society and landless people. The bench said that this issue is related to policy and the High Court should not have given such an order which would ensure felling of fruit trees.
However, the Supreme Court clarified that the state government can take action within the ambit of law regarding encroachment on forest land. The court said that keeping in mind the objective of a welfare state, the state government can prepare a proposal and place it before the central government, so that necessary compliance can be done.
The top court was hearing the petition of the state government, in which the order of the High Court was challenged. Along with this, the petition of former Deputy Mayor Tikendra Singh Panwar and advocate-activist Rajiv Rai was also before the court. Earlier on July 28, the Supreme Court had stayed the High Court order on the petition of Panwar and Rai. The petitioners had argued that lakhs of people are being affected by this order, especially during monsoon.
Former Deputy Mayor of Shimla had filed the petition
Tikendra Singh Panwar had told that in the order of July 2, the High Court had directed the Forest Department to remove apple orchards and plant saplings of forest species in their place and had ordered to recover its expenses from the encroachers as land revenue. It was said in the petition that this order is arbitrary, inconsistent and a violation of constitutional, statutory and environmental principles, which can cause irreparable socio-economic and environmental loss in an ecologically sensitive state like Himachal. Due to large-scale felling of trees during monsoon, the risk of landslides and soil erosion increases manifold.
Petitioner’s argument: Right to livelihood also violated
The petitioners argued that apple orchards are not mere encroachment, but they provide soil stability, provide habitat for local wildlife and are the backbone of the state’s economy, supporting the livelihood of thousands of farmers. The petition also said that the order to remove apple trees without conducting a comprehensive environmental impact assessment (EIA) is against the precautionary principle, which is the basic foundation of environmental jurisprudence. This order also violates the right to livelihood under Article 21 of the Constitution.
Recently the government had given notice
According to the petitioners, by July 18, more than 3,800 apple trees had been cut in areas like Chaithla, Kotgarh and Rohru and there were plans to remove up to 50,000 trees across the state. The petition said that the felling of fruit-laden trees sparked public anger and was widely criticized. It is noteworthy that on December 2, the government had also issued notices to remove illegal encroachment on forest and other lands. This created a stir across the state.
