Drive over, saws fall silent as logs now pile up in Chaithla

Indian Express

5 days ago

Half a dozen teams of Forest and Revenue Departments have completed the eviction drive to clear approximately 300 bighas of encroached forest land in Chaithla village, under the Kotkhai Forest Division, by removing all fruit-laden trees.
Although the week-long drive, which began on July 12, was scheduled to conclude by July 18, the teams took two additional days to complete all formalities before finally calling off the exercise in Chaithla, which falls under the Pandli gram panchayat in Shimla district.
A local orchardist said, 'The logs now have no market value. It is also not feasible to transport the logs from such a high-altitude to lower areas. Labourers and farmers can now use the wood only for burning firewood or for making makeshift boundaries around orchards. Even during earlier eviction drives, including one in 2017, hundreds of fruit-laden trees were cut by the forest department were left on site. The authorities must devise a proper way to deal with such axed trees.'
Sources said that over 4,200 trees, mostly apple, were cut to clear encroachment on forest land. With the eviction drive now complete, Section 164 of BNSS, 2023, which was earlier imposed in the village, has also been withdrawn.
Although a division bench of the Himachal Pradesh High Court had instructed the Forest Department to recover the costs incurred in clearing the encroachments from violators, that part of the process is yet to be completed.
A senior IFS officer, currently posted as the Divisional Forest Officer in Shimla, said, 'There are certain ways to utilise the logs. The HC has instructed our department to take full control of the encroached forest land and start fencing work. The ideal use of the logs is for makeshift fencing, which can later be reinforced. We had decided to adopt the strategy in our jurisdiction once the eviction drive began.'
More than a dozen residents of Chaithla, all involved in apple farming, had reportedly encroached upon hundreds of bighas of forest land to cultivate apple orchards. In the past, the Revenue Department had identified the encroached areas and submitted a report to the High Court.
Meanwhile, the police also removed barricades installed at two locations along the route from the Shimla-Kotkhai bypass to village Chaithla.
The drive was initiated following a complaint filed in 2014 by Krishan Chand Sarta of Jhadag village, under Jubbal Tehsil, alleging large-scale encroachment of forest land by villagers cultivating apples, potatoes, and peas, and constructing permanent structures. The complaint also highlighted the inaction of Forest Department officials. Acting on the complaint, the then Chief Justice of the High Court ordered the registration of the matter as CWPIL No. 17 of 2014.
In a separate communication dated May 15, 2015, further allegations were raised regarding encroachments in Nagpuri Chaithla, Sewag Chaithla, and Kadevag Chaithla villages. The complaint noted that the Horticulture Department had extended financial aid amounting to Rs 30 lakh to encroachers for building grading and packing houses, while the IPH Department and the Electricity Board had provided water and electricity connections.