The Himachal Pradesh government will approach the Supreme Court to protect 1,24,870 illegal occupant families from eviction, Chief Minister Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu told the House on Wednesday. He made this statement while responding to a question raised by BJP MLA Jeet Ram Katwal.
Sukhu said the government will hire renowned lawyers in the Supreme Court to challenge the high court’s order against the occupant families. He said they will put up a strong case to protect the families who are facing the threat of eviction.
On August 5, the Himachal Pradesh High Court directed the state government to begin eviction of all encroachments on government land, preferably by February 28.
But the Supreme Court later stayed the order and asked for responses from the Central and state governments, giving temporary relief to the farmers and others who were at risk of immediate eviction.
Earlier, in response to the main question, Revenue Minister Jagat Singh Negi said the previous BJP government brought a policy in 2002-03 for regularising illegal encroachments, under which more than 1.60 lakh people applied overnight.
He said the policy exposed a large number of illegal encroachments across the state.
Negi added that the previous BJP government stayed silent on the issue, which led to the displacement of more than one lakh people. He said all non-revenue land in Himachal Pradesh is forest land, and unless the Centre amends the Forest (Conservation) Act, the state cannot give even one acre of such land to anyone.
Earlier, Leader of the Opposition Jai Ram Thakur, in a supplementary question, said the aim of bringing this policy by the BJP government was to give back land to people who had been living on government land for many decades.
He accused the current government of failing to present the matter properly in court, which, he said, had resulted in the displacement of more than 1.24 lakh families.
Thakur also asked whether the government would take steps to protect the homes of these poor people. He pressed the government to ensure that the affected families are not left helpless.
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