As many as 52 houses were demolished by the Nainital district administration for allegedly “encroaching” on land in the Reserve Forest in Terai West division of Ramnagar Range in Uttarakhand.
The exercise began by 5 am Sunday in the presence of massive police deployment. Many residents, including women, claimed they were detained by police and taken to police stations as far as 30 km away.
Prashant Arya, the Divisional Forest Officer of Terai West, said the residents were issued notices after which multiple hearings were conducted. “We have given the residents ample time to prove ownership. This patch of land is part of 200 hectares of forest land that has been encroached upon. On Sunday, 25 hectares were cleared, affecting properties of 52 households,” he said.
Story continues below this ad
At least 170 households have been served with eviction orders. Of this, around 40 approached the High Court for a stay on proceedings. The officer said the administration cleared the properties of those who were not granted the relief.
However, residents and activists detained by police on Sunday said the properties of those protected under the stay order have also been demolished.
Story continues below this ad
Deepak Tiwari, who was among 17 people detained by police, said his family was one of those protected from eviction under the stay, but action was taken even on their land. “I ran to the officers with the order, but they claimed that the stay was only for the house and not the land. They dumped garbage over our agricultural land,” he said. A lawyer in the region, Prabhat Dhyani, said the stay covered all land and was not limited to houses. He added that claims under the Forest Rights Act have not been settled yet, making the demolition illegal.
On Sunday, the entry of the media and the general public was restricted when the exercise was initiated. While Arya claimed several structures came up in the last 15 years, Deepak Tiwari, who has been living in the village of Puchhdi since birth, said that his father settled in the area in 1967 when he was six years old.
The authorities arrived with excavators and bulldozers at 5 am, along with a large police force.
Story continues below this ad
When the forest department issued notices last year, as many as 50-60 families left of their own volition. Arya said that the “encroachments” are along the Kosi River. “There have been many orders and guidelines regarding encroachment near rivers. The area is also a crucial wildlife habitat,” he said.
The exercise will likely continue after hearings scheduled for later this month. The department has earmarked 200 hectares where 700 families live as forest land.
Meanwhile, Nainital police said in a press note that the exercise was in line with the Chief Minister’s vision of an “encroachment-free Uttarakhand and action against demographic change”.
Story continues below this ad
“A joint team of Nainital police and the administration carried out strict action against identified illegal encroachments on the Reserved Forest land of the Forest Department. All encroachers had been served notices as per the rules. At dawn, with strong police forces, the administrative team and bulldozers on site, the illegal structures were demolished. Under police supervision, the machines worked continuously, and the entire area was cleared of encroachments,” it said. Police forces remain deployed in the Puchhdi area to ensure there is no disorder.
Police also said they were keeping a close watch on social media to monitor inflammatory posts.
