Govt will protect farmers from displacement: CM

Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu met a delegation of the Himachal Pradesh Kisan Sabha at Chowra Maidan here today and assured it of considering its demands sympathetically.

A large number of farmers and horticulturists from the state staged a protest in Shimla in support of their demand for the resolution of various land-related issues, including eviction from land. The protesters, carrying banners and placards, marched from the Panchayat Bhawan to the Ambedkar Chowk.

Sukhu said that ensuring the welfare of farmers and orchardists was the priority of the state government, and they would not be displaced under any circumstance. “A provision of the Agriculture Loan Interest Subvention Scheme has been made in the Budget, under which the land of the farmers will be saved from being auctioned,” he added.

The Chief Minister said that he was aware of the problems of the farmers and every effort would be made to address their grievances. Rakesh Singha, a former MLA, said that evictions were being carried out in violation of the rules. He added that the Supreme Court had also deemed land evictions as illegal and a violation of natural justice.

Kuldeep Tanwar, president of the Kisan Sabha, said the state was prone to natural disasters like earthquakes, landslides and floods, which damage agriculture land. Over the past two years, vast chunks of land had been damaged, rendering some farmers landless, not even enough to build a house. “In such cases, eviction is a violation of the right to life,” he claimed.