Shimla: Farmers under the banner of the Himachal Kisan Sabha (HKS) and the Himachal Seb Utpadak Sangh (HSUS) today declared that they would march to the Vidhan Sabha on August 27 against the government’s eviction drive.
They demanded that the government should file a review petition in the High Court seeking a stay on the pruning of apple trees by the Forest Department as all trees are part of forest.
The farmers and members of the HKS and HSUS sat on a dharna at the Theog bus stand in protest and brought the traffic to a halt for an hour and appealed to Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh to file a review petition in the high court.
“If Virbhadra Singh and PK Dhumal, leader of the Opposition are the well-wishers of farmers, they should jointly pass a resolution and ask the NDA government to amend provision of the Forest Conservation Act”, said Dr Kuldip Tanwar, president of the HKS while addressing the protesting farmers at Theog.
This amendment would empower the state government to allot at least 2 hectares to landless farmer in the state on a lease basis, he added.
The farmers urged the leaders to shun the family fight and spell out a land allotment policy for the landless and marginal farmers who face eviction proceedings due to the high court order, said Rakesh Singha, president, HSUS.
The government had targeted the marginal farmers during the eviction drive at a time when the apple season started, rued Sandeep Verma, farmer from Theog. The farmers needed 20 bighas to make horticulture viable and the government was talking about giving three or four biswas to landless was a crude joke, resented farmers.
The government had leased thousands of bighas and allowed cutting of green trees to cement and hydropower companies and religious trusts in the state, the HKS leaders charged.
They demanded that the government should file a review petition in the High Court seeking a stay on the pruning of apple trees by the Forest Department as all trees are part of forest.
The farmers and members of the HKS and HSUS sat on a dharna at the Theog bus stand in protest and brought the traffic to a halt for an hour and appealed to Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh to file a review petition in the high court.
“If Virbhadra Singh and PK Dhumal, leader of the Opposition are the well-wishers of farmers, they should jointly pass a resolution and ask the NDA government to amend provision of the Forest Conservation Act”, said Dr Kuldip Tanwar, president of the HKS while addressing the protesting farmers at Theog.
This amendment would empower the state government to allot at least 2 hectares to landless farmer in the state on a lease basis, he added.
The farmers urged the leaders to shun the family fight and spell out a land allotment policy for the landless and marginal farmers who face eviction proceedings due to the high court order, said Rakesh Singha, president, HSUS.
The government had targeted the marginal farmers during the eviction drive at a time when the apple season started, rued Sandeep Verma, farmer from Theog. The farmers needed 20 bighas to make horticulture viable and the government was talking about giving three or four biswas to landless was a crude joke, resented farmers.
The government had leased thousands of bighas and allowed cutting of green trees to cement and hydropower companies and religious trusts in the state, the HKS leaders charged.
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