Kisan Sabha hails SC’s setting aside Himachal HC order to remove orchards from forest land

The organisations said the verdict vindicated their long-standing demand for the regularisation of up to five bighas held by small and marginal farmers. They have consistently maintained that such land holdings are essential for the survival of orchardists, as many of them rely entirely on apple production as their primary source of income.

Kisan Sabha president Dr Kuldeep Singh Tanwar said, “The Supreme Court’s ruling establishes that the issue is not merely a legal dispute, but a socio-economic one. The destruction of fruit-bearing apple trees effectively amounts to taking away farmers’ only means of livelihood.”

Farmer bodies said the court’s observations reaffirmed the constitutional principle of India being a welfare state, where laws are meant to protect livelihoods rather than destroy them.

Apple growers pointed out that apple trees are not merely agricultural assets but symbols of years of labour, economic security and hope for farming families.

The ruling, they said, sends a clear message that farmers should not be treated as offenders for livelihood-based land use and that sustained struggle for justice yields results.