Evicted Kasauli shopkeepers pin hopes on Centre for rehab

Solan, August 29

As many as 21 shopkeepers, who were evicted from the Pine Mall at Kasauli cantonment following the high court orders, are pinning their hopes on the Union Government for a suitable rehabilitation.

Having lost their shops, which they had been running since the past four decades, the aggrieved shopkeepers today said they should be allotted land elsewhere in the cantonment.

The development follows a PIL filed in the HP High Court by a local resident Bhavna, who alleged in the petition that 21 shops have been constructed illegally at the Pine Mall. The area comes under the Army and any kind of construction was not allowed on this land.

Classified as A-1 defence land, the encroachers had been directed to vacate the shops by August 28. The defence authorities today fenced the area, which was vacated by the shopkeepers last evening.

“It was in 2007 that the concrete structures were set up and the defence authorities had been facilitating us in every possible way. From tents to concrete structures, which were painted and numbered by the authorities, we were able to earn our living from these shops since the last three to four decades,” said the evicted shopkeepers.

A proposal to construct 20 shops, comprising 12 on the ground floor and eight on the first floor on self-financing basis, was floated in July 2002 by the defence authorities to rehabilitate the Tibetans operating from here.

“It was proposed to settle the existing shopkeepers appropriately as we had been operating since the last several years. This would have generated the revenue of Rs 1.20 lakh while the project cost was pegged at Rs 12.9 lakh,” said an evicted shopkeeper.

Even a move to reclassify the land from A-1 to C was mooted in August 1993 to facilitate construction of market stalls by the defence authorities. The A-1 defence land is strictly meant for military purposes, which should be free of encroachment. “Had this proposal been implemented we would not have been evicted today,” rued another shopkeeper.

With local MLA Vinod Sultanpuri and former MLA Rajiv Saizal assuring them suitable rehabilitation, the aggrieved residents said the Centre should step in and provide them land to earn their livelihood.