Surrounded by massive deodar trees, the pervasive calm in the sleepy Himachal village of Chaithla is pervaded by the screeching sound of electric saw cutting down fruit-laden apple trees. Here, locals are cautious, not to open up, and choose their words carefully — reason?
The ongoing drive to cut down the apple orchards has been launched following an order of the Himachal Pradesh High Court, which directed officials to clear the forest land of the encroachments or face action.
Even as the village, located in Kotkhai — a Nagar Panchayat in Shimla — appears calm, a tense silence hangs in the air. Suspicion and fear prevail as no one is willing to take responsibility — or blame someone — for the ongoing eviction.
On Friday morning, a team comprising personnel of the forest and revenue departments, accompanied by nearly two dozen police officers, some armed with automatic weapons, descended the makeshift steps into a sprawling orchard of the royal delicious apple variety, but no one emerged from a large adjacent house, presumably belonging to the orchard owner.
“There is no resistance. Villagers know they encroached on the forest land,” said a forest department-hired worker operating an electric woodcutter. “Chaithla has about 300 bighas (approximately 20 hectares) encroached upon. We started clearing uphill first and are moving downward. I can’t say exactly how many illegal trees have been felled, but the drive will continue till July 18.”
When officials moved to another site, a man cautiously walked out of the adjacent house only to find the ruined apple orchard and gauge the loss he suffered. “This was expected. We are also not in favour of encroachments, but why only Chaithla? The high court ordered eviction across the state, so the government should act everywhere, not just here. And why now? The fruit was ready to be harvested in a month or two,” he said, refusing to disclose his identity.
He claimed that over two dozen apple trees, some nearly 40 years old, were “felled mercilessly close by”.
The eviction is being conducted jointly by the Revenue Department, which identifies legal and encroached land, and the Forest Department clears encroachments, while accompanying police personnel ensure the work is executed hassle-free.
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Chaithla has around three dozen households and approximately 175 registered voters. Administratively, it falls under Pandli Gram Panchayat under the Kotkhai forest range of the Theog forest division.
No one in Chaithla village was willing to come on record.
Pandli village pradhan Sashi Chauhan said, “We respect the high court’s order. During a Gram Sabha convened by senior administrative officials in Kotkhai on July 10, I proposed postponing the drive until the harvest in August-September. Our proposal was rejected. We want this eviction to be statewide, not limited to Chaithla.”
Her husband Dharam Pal Chauhan, too, questioned the eviction timing and the past inaction, “Chaithla is around 17 km uphill. Yes, the maximum encroachment is here, but it didn’t happen overnight. People have been cultivating these orchards for over five decades. Where was the Forest Department then?”
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A panchayat member said it was not the first such drive in the village. “A similar eviction was carried out in 2017, though briefly,” he added.
A senior forest officer supervising the eviction drive told The Indian Express, “The Revenue Department has identified around 300 bighas (about 20 hectares) of encroached forest land, scattered in patches. We’re marking stumps of felled trees with paint for future identification. This drive won’t stop at Chaithla; it will be carried out across Himachal. After the drive, we will reforest the area with native species like deodar, chir and kail (Pinus wallichiana). No agricultural or horticultural species will be planted on forest land.”
Police have installed at least two makeshift barricades with over three dozen personnel standing guard, questioning commuters going towards Chaithala.
“More than 80 personnel have been deputed to maintain law and order in the area. We came here in the morning and would return to a government accommodation in Kotkhai after sunset,” a DSP-rank officer said.
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Meanwhile, the eviction drive was carried out in Sarahan village of Baragaon Panchayat in Kumarsain, Shimla. Officials said, “Forest department officials and a police team reached the site and felled more than 140 trees of fruits, including apple, pear, plum and peach.
Before taking action, the forest department had issued notices to those who had encroached on the forest land by planting fruit-bearing trees, but the encroachers failed to vacate the land. Consequently, the department carried out the operation with the assistance of the police.
On July 12, a division bench of Justice Vivek Singh Thakur and Justice Bipin C Negi ordered strict action against those obstructing the implementation of its orders. “Let bailable warrants each in the sum of Rs 25,000 with one surety of like amount be issued… with notice to explain why they should not be punished for obstruction,” the bench ordered, adding that tree cutting in affected revenue villages must proceed immediately and progress reports be filed before the next hearing.
The court also expressed concern over repeated and organised attempts by evicted encroachers to reoccupy forest lands, highlighting the need for strict enforcement of judicial orders.
The drive began on July 12.
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On July 11, Shimla Deputy Commissioner Anupam Kashyap, also the District Magistrate, invoked Section 164 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) to ensure peaceful execution of the high court’s orders.
