SC orders stay on felling of apple trees on forest land in Himachal

A bench of Chief Justice BR Gavai and justices K Vinod Chandran and N V Anjaria was hearing a plea of former deputy mayor Tikender Singh Panwar and activist Rajiv Rai, a lawyer

In a relief to apple growers in Himachal Pradesh, the Supreme Court on Monday stayed a high court order directing the removal of fruit-bearing orchards from encroached forest lands.

Panwar said the HC in its July 2 order directed the forest department to remove the apple orchards and plant forest species in their place, with costs ordered to be recovered from encroachers as arrears of land revenue. (File)

A bench of Chief Justice BR Gavai and justices K Vinod Chandran and N V Anjaria was hearing a plea of former deputy mayor Tikender Singh Panwar and activist Rajiv Rai, a lawyer.

Appearing for Panwar, senior advocate P V Dinesh and advocate Subhash Chandran KR argued the HC had erred in its finding, which impacted lakhs of apple growers, especially in the monsoon season.

Panwar said the HC in its July 2 order directed the forest department to remove the apple orchards and plant forest species in their place, with costs ordered to be recovered from encroachers as arrears of land revenue.

“The order is arbitrary, disproportionate and violative of constitutional, statutory and environmental principles, thereby necessitating the intervention of the Supreme Court to prevent irreversible ecological and socio-economic harm in the ecologically fragile state of Himachal Pradesh,” the plea said.

Such large-scale tree-felling, particularly during the monsoon season, significantly heightens the risk of landslides and soil erosion in Himachal Pradesh, it added. Panwar said the high court order, mandating the blanket removal of apple trees without conducting a comprehensive environmental impact assessment (EIA), was arbitrary and in contravention of the precautionary principle -- a cornerstone of environmental jurisprudence. The plea argued the destruction of these orchards not only threatened environmental stability but also the fundamental right to livelihood enshrined under Article 21 of the Constitution.

“The HC’s order lacked the requisite EIA to assess its environmental and socio-economic impacts, thereby violating the principles of reasonableness and proportionality as elucidated in cases such as Coimbatore District Central Co-operative Bank,” the plea said.

The petitioners further argued that the felling of apple trees during the monsoon season exacerbated ecological risks, including landslides and soil erosion, contradicting judicial mandates for environmental assessments as seen in T N Godavarman Thirumulpad v. Union of India. The economic ramifications are equally severe, as apple cultivation is a vital component of Himachal Pradesh’s economy, and its destruction threatens the livelihoods of small-scale farmers, thereby infringing upon their constitutional right to life and livelihood, the petitioners added.

Panwar said as on July 18, reports indicated over 3,800 apple trees were felled in areas like Chaithla, Kotgarh and Rohru, with plans to remove up to 50,000 trees across the state. The apex court’s decision was welcomed by farmer groups, who are planning to protest outside the Himachal Secretariat in Shimla on July 29.

“We are determined. Tomorrow’s protest outside the Secretariat will not end in a few hours. If needed, we will sit there indefinitely. This is not an ordinary protest—it’s a struggle for survival, for dignity, for justice,” said Sanjay Chauhan, Convener of the Himachal Pradesh Apple Growers Association.

“On July 2, the Himachal Pradesh HC passed an order directing the removal of apple trees on encroached forest and government land. But these trees are currently laden with fruit it’s the apple harvesting season. This order was arbitrary and has caused enormous panic among farmers. We await the detailed order, but the initial communication has clearly instructed the state government to stop all ongoing tree felling immediately” he said. Chauhan claimed that approximately 4,500 apple trees had already been cut down, translating to a loss of 35,000 to 40,000 apple boxes, and an estimated economic damage of ₹400–500 crore.

With inputs from HTC Shimla