High Court orders removal of apple orchards from encroached forest lands

Indian Express

11 hours ago

In a judgment with far reaching effect, a division bench of Himachal Pradesh High Court has directed the State Forest Department to 'immediately remove' all apple orchards from encroached forest lands across the state where evictions had already taken place, and recover the cost of felling, stump removal and plantation from the encroachers as arrears of land revenue.
The directive came in continuation of judicial monitoring in two Public Interest Litigations (PILs) on which the high court took suo moto cognisance in 2014 and 2015.
A division bench of Justices Vivek Singh Thakur and Bipin C Negi Wednesday directed the officials concerned to take stern action against individuals obstructing the implementation and the issuance of bailable warrants.
'With respect to the submission of learned Advocate General qua persons/encroachers, who are obstructing the state machinery in implementing the judgment passed by this court, let bailable warrants each in the sum of Rs 25,000 with one surety each in the like amount be issued against the persons mentioned in the above referred documents, returnable for July 14, 2025 with a notice to explain as to why they should not be punished for obstructing the implementation of the orders/directions passed by this court. Insofar as the Revenue Village to which these individuals belong, cutting/removal of apple trees shall be done forthwith and progress reports be filed on or before the next date of hearing,' the order, brought to the public domain on Saturday, reads.
The bench also took serious note of repeated and organised attempts by evicted encroachers to reoccupy forest lands.
Advocate General (AG) Anup Rattan, appearing for the state, along with Additional Advocate General (AAG) Varun Chandel, informed the court that despite earlier evictions, individuals named in government communications on January 31, 2025 and GD Entry No. 31 recorded at the Kotkhai police station on July 1, 2025, continued to obstruct officials attempting to enforce the Court's earlier orders.
The submissions, supported by a Joint Committee report dated July 1, 2025, which disclosed that 'evicted encroachers are placing hail nets and continuing to manage apple crops on forest lands, disrupting official access and enforcement efforts'.
The AG submitted, 'The Forest Department is unable to micro-manage these orchards and that apple trees, being non-forest species, are to be replaced with indigenous forest vegetation.'
Supporting the state's stand, senior advocate JL Bhardwaj, serving as amicus curiae, stressed 'the urgency of strong judicial intervention' to prevent recurrence of encroachments.
Considering the seriousness of the matter, the Court ordered complete removal of apple trees and orchards from such forest lands, and directed that 'reforestation efforts be undertaken on a war footing, leveraging the ongoing monsoon season'.
Bhardwaj told The Indian Express, 'In 2014, the high court received two letters, highlighting the encroachment menace on the forest lands, where encroachers cultivated orchards, especially apple orchards. The Court received another letter in 2015 and clubbed it with the earlier matter taken up. Thousands of bighas of forest land in Himachal Pradesh are under illegal encroachment. This order will be implemented across the state. The Chief Secretary and the Director General of Police have been directed to provide all necessary support to ensure compliance, including police protection to forest officials.'
The Court directed that replantation with forest species be carried out either by the forest department or with the assistance of NGOs or private agencies engaged in afforestation. 'Crucially, the cost of felling, stump removal, and plantation is to be recovered from the encroachers as arrears of land revenue.'
In addition, the Court took stern action against individuals obstructing implementation. For the villages from which these individuals hail, the Court directed immediate removal of all apple trees, with progress to be reported by the next hearing date fixed on July 14.
The bench clarified that these directions were in addition to the orders passed earlier on January 8, 2025, in the same PILs.
Meanwhile, the high court also acknowledged evidence that evicted encroachers are repeatedly attempting to reoccupy forest land, particularly areas where apple orchards were planted.
The court stated in the order that photographs showed the use of hail nets to protect apple crops on these lands. The Court also accepted the forest department's stand that apple trees were noted as non-forest species, and the court recognised the state's intent to replace them with indigenous forest species.
In an affidavit filed before the NGT in March 2025, Himachal Pradesh Principal Chief Conservator of Forest (PCCF) Sameer Rastogi submitted that a total of 8,374 cases of encroachments, involving approximately 5,689 hectares of forest land, were detected between 2001 and 2023.
Out of these, 9,903 cases covering an area of 3,097 hectares were successfully evicted, while remaining cases are under process, Rastogi had submitted.