Denial of nautor land irks Lahaul, Kinnaur tribals

Kuldeep Chauhan

Tribune News Service

Shimla, June 13

Tribals in Lahaul-Spiti, Kinnaur and Bharmour-Pangi areas of Chamba district are up in arms against the state government for its failure to allot them nautor land even after three years in power.

The Congress government has blamed it on the state Governor, saying he has not given his nod for the nautor policy for the last six months as the last date for two-year-long waver on Forest Conservation Act (FCA), 1980, expires this month.

Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh had promised to allot nautor land to tribals of three districts. But not even inch of land was allotted to tribals so far, despite the fact that the Forest Rights Act, 2006, provides for allotment of land. On the contrary, the government initiated an eviction process without giving them an opportunity to plead their cases, the tribals charged.

Prem Chand, president of the Save Lahaul-Spiti Society (SLSS), said instead of regularising their land under the Forest Rights Act (FRA), the tribals who had been cultivating government land over the decades were being treated unfairly. They were not given even an opportunity to plead their case. “People are being evicted unconstitutionally from their land by disconnecting their water and electricity supplies without following the principle of natural justice,” said Prem.

Ranjit Negi, convener, Himlok Jagriti Manch, Kinnaur, said tribals raised their voice and staged protests for the allotment of the promised nautor land, but the state government launched the eviction process in the state.

The state Cabinet had cleared the nautor policy for tribals in December, 2015 that would have benefited 20,000 tribals in three districts. The final documents were sent to the Governor for his nod, but he is learnt to have sent the same to the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), where the fate of the file remained uncertain so far, sources revealed.

It is the state Governor who exercises power under Section 5, Constitution of India, suspending the provision of the Forest Conservation Act, 1980, as all waste land is forest land under the Act.