Himachal HC orders removal of all encroachments on forest land

The Himachal High Court today ordered authorities to remove all encroachments from forest land in excess of one acre.
The court said "it shall be the personal responsibility of office bearers/officers, irrespective of their rank and file, of Gram Panchayat, Gram Sabha, Panchayat Samiti, Zila Parishad and employees/officials of the forest, revenue and police departments to ensure that the orders passed by the court are complied with in letter and spirit".
A division bench comprising Acting Chief Justice Sanjay Karol and Justice Tarlok Singh Chauhan passed the orders disposing a bunch of petitions related to encroachments on forest land.
The court in an earlier orderhad asked authorities to disconnect the electricity and water connections provided to all illegal structures on government land.

It directed the principal chief conservator of forest to place on record the half-yearly report submitted by the Forest Guards with respect to the number of encroachments.
The court also directed the state government, the forest department and the deputy commissioners to submit reports regarding recovery of undue profit made by the encroachers.
It also directed them to use drones to keep a watch on the encroached areas and detect new cases of encroachment.
The court directed the authorities to file a compliance report, clearly stating the action taken by them.