Nainital, Mar 23 (PTI) The Uttarakhand High Court has granted relief to Udham Singh Nagar farmers by quashing a district administration order imposing a ban on the cultivation of summer paddy.
A single bench of Justice Pankaj Purohit held that farmers cannot be restrained from cultivating crops of their choice without any statutory backing.
Farmers filed the case, challenging the District Magistrate’s order dated February 4, 2026. The order had permitted cultivation of summer paddy only in waterlogged fields, while prohibiting it in other areas.
The state argued that the decision was based on inputs from scientific institutions, which suggested that summer paddy cultivation reduces groundwater levels and adversely affects soil quality.
Advocates Balvinder Singh, Harshpal Sekhon and Sandeep Kothari, appearing on behalf of the petitioner farmers, argued that in the absence of any legal provision, the administration cannot impose such restrictions. It was further contended that every action of the state must have the sanction of law.
Setting aside the impugned order, the court allowed all the petitions and permitted farmers to cultivate summer paddy in their fields, irrespective of whether the land is waterlogged or not. PTI DPaT HIG SHS SHS
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