HP HC forms SIT to evict encroachers from 100 bighas of forest land

The Himachal Pradesh High Court today took serious note of delay in removing encroachments from over 100 bighas of state's forest lands and constituted a Special Investigation Team (SIT) for clearing the encroachents.

Expressing dismay over the delay, a division bench of Acting Chief Justice Sanjay Karol said, "The least that was expected of the respondents (government authorities) that they could have evicted by now, if not all, at least majority of the encroachers in 13 cases, wherein encroachment was admittedly found to be on more than 100 bighas of land."
The bench further said, The state appear to be under some strange misconception that in all the encroachment cases, the encroacher is entitled to retain 5 bighas of land irrespective of his lawful holding."