73-year-old widow imposed Rs1.73-crore fine for alleged land encroachment in Kullu's Bhuntar

A 73-year-old widow in Kullu district has been imposed a fine of Rs 1.73 crore for allegedly encroaching on around four bighas of government land in the Hathithan area of Bhuntar, triggering a debate over a balance between housing rights and enforcement against illegal occupation.

According to the administration, the penalty was imposed as part of an ongoing crackdown on encroachments following the directives of the High Court of Himachal Pradesh. Bhuntar Tehsildar Nitesh Thakur said that about 30 such cases had been identified in the area, with penalties in several cases exceeding Rs 20 lakh. The fine has been calculated on the basis of the current circle rates and the woman has been given two months to vacate the land and remove the unauthorised structure. If she fails to do so, the administration will carry out demolition and recover the cost.

The widow, Satya Devi, however, claims that she has been living on the land for the past 48 years with her husband, now dead, and that authorities had never objected during this period. She adds that the administration itself provided electricity, water and sewage connections to her over the years. “If occupying the land was illegal, why was it never questioned earlier?” she asks, appealing for an alternative shelter.

The District Kullu Bhoomiheen and Avasheen Association has taken up her case. A delegation led by its president, Om Prakash Sharma, submitted a memorandum to the Deputy Commissioner, seeking intervention on humanitarian grounds. Sharma said that while small residential encroachments were being penalised, larger land-grab cases involving influential individuals were spared. He added that Kullu district had nearly 11,000 cases of small encroachments in form of residential units and said that the matter would be raised with Revenue Minister Jagat Singh Negi.

Officials maintain that stricter action is necessary to reclaim public land, especially along forest areas and the Bhuntar-Manikaran road, where some residents have re-occupied land even after receiving compensation during earlier acquisitions. They note that earlier fines were nominal and failed to deter encroachment, whereas the High Court’s recent stance has prompted more rigorous enforcement.

The case highlights the tension between legal procedures and the realities faced by vulnerable residents who have lived on disputed land for decades. For Satya Devi, the Rs 1.73 crore penalty is not only a legal issue but a question of where she was expected to go after nearly half a lifetime in the same home.