18-05-2025
Forest rights act in HP raises concerns over regularization of forest encroachments by apple growers.
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Kullu: Call it a juicy loophole. A statewide campaign of the Himachal Pradesh govt to verify land ownership claims under the Forest Rights Act (FRA), 2006, makes environmentalists fear it may legitimise large-scale forest encroachment by commercial apple growers.
While the initiative aims to settle genuine land rights of traditional forest dwellers, activists allege that the Act is being twisted to benefit wealthy orchardists who have occupied vast tracts of forest land illegally. "We support the FRA, but it should benefit only eligible forest dwellers, not those who have planted apple orchards on encroached-upon land," said Raj Machhan of the Himachal Forest Regeneration Mission.
"There's a clear attempt to misinterpret the law to suit big land grabbers."
Forest Pie for apple lobby
The FRA was enacted to recognise the land rights of scheduled tribes and other traditional forest-dwelling communities who lived on or used forest land prior to Dec 13, 2005. However, campaigners argue that its current implementation could open the door for those who cleared forest land for orchards in recent decades.
Environmentalist Surinder Papta warned the state that misuse of the Act "would not only be unconstitutional but also environmentally disastrous," adding that legitimising this kind of encroachment would be unjust to rightful claimants and may encourage further illegal occupation.
'Wood' you believe it?
In apple-growing regions such as Shimla, Kullu, Kinnaur, Mandi, and Chamba, activists claim that deforestation to expand orchards has intensified over the last decade.
In Shimla's Kotkhai and Rohru areas, some orchardists are alleged to have occupied up to 100 bighas of forest land each illegally, often by felling protected deodar and pine trees. Vijay Thakur, former vice-chancellor of the University of Horticulture and Forestry in Solan, described the trend as "greed-based", noting that some land grabbers cut trees for timber, build wooden houses, and then stake claims under the FRA.
"This goes against the spirit of the Act and multiple court orders," he said.
Despite repeated directives from the Himachal Pradesh high court to evict land grabbers and clear illegal orchards, enforcement has been inconsistent. A 2018 court-ordered special investigation team (SIT) identified 13 individuals occupying more than 2,800 bighas in Shimla alone. From 2007 to 2018, the forest department detected more than 26,000 bighas under illegal occupation across 11,200 cases.
Lack of demarcation
A major hurdle in tackling the issue is the lack of demarcation. The comptroller and auditor general (CAG) claimed in a report that more than 54% of HP's forest area remained undemarcated, making enforcement difficult. Forest officer Angel Chauhan said 90% of encroachment occured in unprotected areas. "Once proper demarcation is done, encroachment will be easier to address," she said.
Chauhan, posted as divisional forest officer (DFO) in Kullu, added that misuse of the FRA was less likely in her district, where detected encroachment was smaller in size and implementation was monitored closely. The revenue department, led by minister Jagat Singh Negi, has held awareness workshops across the state recently to guide communities on submitting claims under the FRA. While officials maintain that due process is being followed, critics remain sceptical.
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