Himachal government will fight for 1.24 lakh illegal occupants in the state: CM

Dharamshala/Shimla (HP), Dec 3 (PTI) The Himachal Pradesh government will fight in the Supreme Court for 1,24,870 illegal occupant families to save them from eviction, Chief Minister Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu told the House on Wednesday.

The remark came as he intervened in response to a question asked by BJP MLA Jeet Ram Katwal.

Sukhu said the government will hire renowned lawyers in the apex court to seek relief from the high court's decision against the occupant families.

On August 5, the Himachal Pradesh High Court had ordered the state government to start eviction proceedings against all encroachments on government land, preferably by February 28.

However, the Supreme Court later stayed the court order, seeking responses from the Union and state governments, offering a temporary relief to farmers and others facing immediate eviction.

Earlier, in response to the original question, Revenue Minister Jagat Singh Negi said the previous BJP government introduced a policy in 2002-03 that called for the regularisation of illegal encroachments under which over 1.60 lakh people in the state applied overnight, exposing numerous illegal encroachments.

The previous BJP government remained silent on the issue, resulting in the displacement of over one lakh people, Negi said, adding that all non-revenue land in Himachal Pradesh is forest land, and until the central government amends the Forest (Conservation) Act, the government cannot allocate even a single acre to anyone.

Earlier, Leader of the Opposition Jai Ram Thakur, in a supplementary question, said the purpose of introducing this policy by the previous BJP government was to restore possession of the land to those who had been living on government land for decades.

He alleged that the current government failed to properly present the matter before the court, resulting in the displacement of over 1.24 lakh families. He also asked if the government would make efforts to save the homes of these poor people. PTI COR BPL PRK PRK