Shimla: The Himachal Pradesh government’s initiative to allocate ‘nautor land’ with the aim to benefit tribal communities — particularly those residing in villages along the Chinese-Occupied Tibet border — has hit a hurdle at Raj Bhavan.
Nautor is waste land owned by the central government outside towns, and reserved and demarcated protected forests, and given for use with the sanction of a competent authority.
The central government had launched its Vibrant Village Programme (VVP) earlier this year to develop such villages, while the state government has said that it is trying to address some of the other crucial issues — migration and livelihood.
“These are far-flung areas which lack resources. People living here need to be given a source of livelihood so that they do not abandon the land and move to other areas in search of a better life. We have decided to give ‘nautors’ — additional land — to tribals. It will help in generating extra income. This would work as an incentive to the people to stay there,” said Jagat Singh Negi, state’s revenue minister and MLA from Kinnaur, to ThePrint. According to him, a majority of tribals have less than 10 bigha land.
The state government in July recommended that The Forest (Conservation) Act (FCA), 1980, be suspended to allow allocation of nautors. Under Schedule V of the constitution, the governor of a state can suspend the FCA, allowing government land to be allocated as nautor in tribal areas.
Over five months on, matter is pending at Raj Bhavan.
This has led Negi and Ravi Thakur, Congress MLA from Lahaul and Spiti, to accuse Raj Bhavan and the governor of “deliberate” delay.
According to Negi, the FCA was suspended for the first time in the country in Himachal in 2014 during Congress rule.
“We sanctioned more than 500 nautors then, NOCs were obtained in more than 7,000 cases, and the process was initiated to allot nautors. The BJP government took the reins towards the end of 2017 and the FCA remained suspended till 2018. But the then government did not do the needful (get the FCA suspended again),” he added.
“It’s quite unfortunate that the Raj Bhavan sometimes delays such decisions, not just in Himachal but in other states too. But it should not happen. I have met the governor thrice. Tribal MLAs, other public representatives and different groups have also met him in this regard, but tribal people are yet to get relief,” Negi added.
As far as Raj Bhavan is concerned, it has asked the government to submit the record of nautor beneficiaries.
In a statement to ThePrint, Rajesh Sharma, secretary to the governor, said, “The Office of the Governor has sought some clarifications on the recommendation to suspend FCA.”
Speaking to ThePrint on condition of anonymity, a government official said: “The governor seems unconvinced with the request that FCA should be suspended once again. Suspending FCA again and again to allot nautor will make it a regular practice. That is why he has sought figures and more clarity as to why as well as whom the nautor needs to be allotted to. The governor wanted to know whether needy people would get the benefit or not.”
A government official, posted in Kinnaur, said, “Having 20 bighas in tribal areas is almost equal to 5 bighas or less than that in other areas of the state if analysed economically.”
“You cannot grow more crops in tribal areas unlike other areas — where people have resorted to growing stone fruits, vegetables and other fruits,” he added
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‘Tourism alone won’t feed us’
When state Governor Shiv Pratap Shukla visited Kinnaur in September this year, locals reportedly urged him to suspend the FCA so that nautor cases could be settled.
Aatma Ram Negi, a resident of Hangrang Valley in Kinnaur, said, “This is a critical issue. People here do not have much private land. Some have the land but do not have revenue papers or legal ownership. They always live in fear of eviction. This issue should be settled once and for all.”
Shukla at the time had assured them that he would speak to the prime minister about this matter. However, Jagat Singh Negi said that suspending the act is well within the rights of the governor himself.
Meanwhile, Ravi Thakur told ThePrint, “The previous governor had suspended FCA in 2014, there should not be a problem now as nothing has changed in terms of rules. The Governor should not sit on government decisions that are in people’s interest. Even the Supreme Court said it a few days ago.”
Earlier, the governor had suspended the FCA twice — in 2014 and 2016 — on the recommendation of the state cabinet and tribal advisory council (TAC), Thakur added.
There are 198 villages along the 250 km border that Himachal shares with China Occupied Tibet. As per the census document, of the total 55,673 sq km geographical area of the state, 23,655 sq km or 42 percent, falls under the Scheduled area.
In these geographically-challenging locations (Lahaul, Spiti, Kinnaur and Chamba districts), the average landholding size is around 1.16 hectares, but over the years the cropping intensity of these farms has fallen from 136 to 124 percent due to water scarcity, low availability of irrigation facilities and low returns, according to the World bank assisted state government’s Himachal Pradesh Forests for Prosperity Project report, 2018.
Amar Chand Negi, an advocate and member of the TAC told ThePrint, “There are 6,000 pending cases of nautor just in Kinnaur. If one has less landholding, he would look for options at other places. Already, farming is not seen as a lucrative job and less land is making it worse.”
Meanwhile, the Opposition BJP has been hitting out at the ruling Congress in the state, especially at Jagat Singh Negi for nautor promises. At a press conference in October, Surat Negi, BJP’s 2022 candidate from Kinnaur, alleged that the Congress government has no intention to give nautor land. “The minister should tell the people as to why promises of nautor land have not been met,” he said.
A.P. Negi, a resident of Leo village, said that the younger generation needs solid reasons to stay back. “It’s good that the government is planning to develop bordering areas but tourism alone won’t feed us. Agriculture, horticulture is the key and that requires land. Allotment of nautor will resolve this problem for years,” he added.
(Edited by Zinnia Ray Chaudhuri)
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