SHIMLA — Puja Devi, mother of two, now lives at her parents’ house. Her home, her orchard, and her life—all sealed off and erased in a matter of hours by the Forest Department.
No warning, no hearing. Just saws, axes, and orders.
Puja and her neighbour Jagdish Singh, both residents of Sarahan village in Badagaon panchayat, Kumarsain, were among the latest victims of the state’s ongoing forest eviction drive.
Their crime? Raising apple and cherry trees on barren land near their Nau Tore land what the Forest Department claims is forest land.
But to Puja, whose cherry orchard was nurtured on 'Paja' — a wild, native tree — and Jagdish, who had only 3.5 bighas of land, this is more than a land dispute. It's a life ripped apart.
Home Sealed, Life Uprooted
Puja’s modest home has been sealed by the Forest Department, leaving her family including her widow mother in law sharing at neighbour's house in the fury of monsoons and her two children with no option but to take shelter at her maternal home.
“We planted cherries on trees that grew on wild paja tree. We didn’t bulldoze hills or fell deodars.
Yet they cut them apple trees down as if we were criminals,” she says.
Jagdish’s family — including his 82-year-old mother Champa Devi, wife Gayatri, and brothers Pramod and Mahender — watched their decades-old, fruit-laden apple trees fall one after another near their nau Tore land.
“They came around 2:45 PM on July 9. It was over by sunset. No notice, no mercy,” says Jagdish.
"We planted the trees on banjar bhumi nau Tore land, they cut my trees. If they had cut me, it would have been better," Champa added with tears rolling down on her wrinkled face.
Where are the Leaders?
Shockingly, as axes and chain saws roared through orchards and homes, Congress MLAs Vikramaditya Singh and Rohit Thakur, elected from this very region, maintained silence.
Not a statement, not a visit. The people who voted them in were left to fend for themselves. They are waiting for CM to come and they will take up the matter with him.
Meanwhile, Revenue and Horticulture Minister Jagat Singh Negi, who is the protector and promoters of apple trees shrugged off responsibility, saying the government was merely complying with the High Court’s orders.
In its submission to the court, the state admitted it lacked “resources to maintain apple trees on forest land” and hence justified their removal — a move now being slammed as a self-goal by the government that weakens both the cause of conservation and farmers’ rights.
There is no justification in cutting down deodar jungle making rooms for apples. But the forest department has failed to protect both- recalling one time forest department had mulled a plan to plant fruit bearing trees in forest area to luring wild life.
Legal Remedies Ignored?
The tragedy is not just administrative — it’s also legal failure.
The best possible way for farmers to claim legal rights over the land, except in demarcated and protected forests, is by filing a suit for adverse possession before a Civil Court — especially where possession is inherited from ancestors and has been continuous for 30 years or more, say legal experts.
In many such cases across Himachal, families have held land for generations.
Another route available is through claims under the Forest Rights Act (FRA), 2006, which recognizes traditional rights of forest dwellers and cultivators.
But most unfortunate is that possession has been taken back by the Forest Department in a manner that appears to flout established rules.
Even in civil executions of court orders, possession of land cannot be forcibly taken if there is a standing crop.
"The law mandates that harvest be allowed, and only after reaping, the lawful handover of land can proceed"
This principle — rooted in both fairness and precedence — seems to have been set at naught in the present actions.
Trees That Breathe — And Give Back
What the government and forest bureaucracy continue to ignore is the carbon sink value of these very orchards being cut.
Dr. Vijay Thakur, former Vice Chancellor of Dr. YS Parmar University of Horticulture and Forestry, recently deposed before the National Green Tribunal (NGT) and warned that apple orchards play a vital role in carbon sequestration — a critical factor in the face of climate change.
“Apple orchards not only stabilize fragile Himalayan slopes and provide9 livelihoods to thousands, but they absorb atmospheric CO₂, keeping our hill ecology alive,” Dr. Thakur told the NGT.
Even Encyclopedia Britannica acknowledges that apple trees of the Malus genus, part of the Rosaceae family, exist in symbiotic harmony with natural ecosystems, aiding pollinators, preserving topsoil, and contributing to long-term ecological balance.
“These are not concrete buildings or golf courses. They are living systems,” said a local botanist.
Activists Active on Social media, Missing on Ground
While so-called conservationists were quick to post support for apple trees cutting forest clearance drives on social media, none have come forward on camera or on the ground to counter the position of the Himachal Seb Utpadak Sangh and Himachal Kisan Sabha, who are protesting evictions and tree felling in the streets with full force.
“There’s strong pressure from NGOs, and orchardists to hold rallies in every district in support of eviction and environment,” claims Raj Machhan, convenor of HIFORM (Himachal Forest Rejuvenation Mission).
“But we’ve refrained. HIFORM is a think tank — a watchdog, not a protest group. We’re made up of top professionals who want to give back to society through reason, not street politics".
It appears everyone wants to preach on X and Facebook and social media, but when poor farmers are crushed, they cannot face them” said a protesting orchardist and member of Seb Utpadak Sangh and CPM state secretary Sanjay Chauhan from Kotkhai. “This is not conservation. This is class-washed cruelty.”
Rakesh Singha Declares Protest War
Rakesh Singha, senior CPM leader and convener of Himachal Seb Utpadak Sangh, has taken a firm stand:
“This is a war against injustice. The small and marginal farmers living at the edge in villages like Sarahan are being crushed under the bulldozer of bureaucratic brutality.
We will gherao the Himachal Pradesh Secretariat on July 29 to wake up the Sukhu government from its slumber. Let the state tell the High Court that protecting small farmers is a priority — not punishing them.”
BJP Slams Government’s ‘Two-Faced’ Stand
BJP spokesperson Chetan Bragta hit out at the Congress government, calling its stance on orchard evictions “deceptive and two-faced.”On stage, they promise relief. In court, they deny any policy exists. That’s betrayal,” Bragta said.
He also slammed the Horticulture Minister, saying:Instead of protecting growers, the minister is busy spreading confusion, claiming 50 bighas will be regularised — while the government says nothing of that sort in court. Who’s lying?
”They have staff and money to sell liquor — but not to save apple trees, the backbone of Himachal’s economy. That’s pure hypocrisy,” Bragta added.
Back in Sarahan, Puja and Jagdish are still in shock. “They didn’t just cut our trees.
They cut future of children,” says Puja. “Each cherry tree, each apple branch, was planted with our hands, watered with our sweat.”
As the state gears up for more evictions, the question echoing across the hills is loud and painful.
“When will justice look beyond boundaries on paper and see the lives rooted in the soil?”
#AppleLivesMatter #HimachalEvictions #SaveOurOrchards #ClimateNotChainsaws #JusticeForFarmers