Shimla, Aug 27,
Activists of Himalaya Niti Abhiyan have called upon the Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh to intervene in recent eviction orders issued by the Himachal Pradesh High Court concerning government and forest lands. The orders, which demand the removal of encroachments, have been met with concern from local communities who believe that the Forest Rights Act (FRA) of 2006 protects their claims.
In a letter addressed to the Chief Minister, Guman Singh, the Convener of the Himalaya Niti Abhiyan, along with Kulbhushan Upmanyu, the President, and R.S. Negi, the Co-President, have urged the state government to file a review petition under the provisions of the Forest Rights Act. They emphasize that the eviction orders, dated July 17, 2024, August 1, 2024, and July 23, 2024, issued in connection with various petitions (CWP No. 1028 of 2002, CWP No. 3161 of 2016, CWP No. 2073 of 2018), are not in line with the FRA, which prohibits the eviction of tribal and other traditional forest dwellers until their claims have been duly examined.
They state that Section 4(5) of the Forest Rights Act, 2006, which has been in effect nationwide since April 2008, stipulates that until the process of recognizing forest rights under this law is fully completed, tribal and other traditional forest dwellers cannot be evicted from their traditional forest resources and forest land used for their livelihood. During this period, their occupation cannot be deemed illegal.
The activists argue that many of those occupying forest land are entitled to protection under the FRA, which requires district-level committees to resolve claims before any eviction can take place. They also pointed out that this is not the first instance where such evictions have targeted small and marginalized farmers while sparing more influential individuals.
Citing previous legal precedents, including the Supreme Court’s ruling in the Orissa Mining Corporation v. Ministry of Environment & Forest case (Writ Petition (Civil) No. 180 of 2011) dated April 18, 2013, the letter stresses that eviction actions cannot be legally undertaken until the recognition and verification of forest rights are complete.
The letter also references the May 22, 2013 meeting of the state-level monitoring committee under the Forest Rights Act, which resolved that no forest dweller could be evicted until their claims had been processed. The activists contend that the Forest Rights Act, being a special act passed by Parliament, supersedes all other regional and central forest and revenue laws, making any eviction without due process a violation of the law.
In their plea, the activists urged the state government to uphold the provisions of the FRA and protect the rights of tribal and traditional forest dwellers by filing a review petition against the High Court’s orders. They appealed to the Chief Minister to ensure that the eviction process is halted until the legal rights of the affected communities are fully recognized.
Noteworthy that the Himachal high court in its order had emphasized the rigorous requirements of the Forest Conservation Act, 1980, and clarified that any use of forest land for non-forest purposes without Central Government approval constitutes a violation of the Act.
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