New Delhi: Himachal Pradesh’s Revenue, Horticulture, and Tribal Development Minister Jagat Singh Negi announced on Friday that the state government will move the Supreme Court against a High Court order prompting widespread felling of fruit-bearing and green trees on encroached forest lands.
Negi described the green felling as “environmentally disastrous” and at odds with core principles of ecological conservation.
“Green Felling” Versus Encroachment Removal
While the government is bound to enforce the court’s eviction of illegal settlements, Negi insisted there is no justification for cutting down decades-old orchards and mature trees.
“Nowhere in the country is green felling permitted. Eviction of illegal encroachments is being carried out, but cutting decades-old fruit-bearing trees is not justified.”
He warned that this first-of-its-kind mass removal of healthy trees not only destroys valuable green assets but also risks damaging the fragile Himalayan environment.
The minister cautioned that clear-cutting slopes could trigger serious consequences—soil erosion, flooding, and downstream devastation, especially as the state braces for heavy monsoons, cloudbursts, and flash floods.
“There are trees over 50 to 60 years old being cut down. Be it fruit-bearing or otherwise, a tree is a tree. We are following the court’s eviction orders, but mass tree felling is a first-of-its-kind action and a matter of grave concern.”
