
PANCHKULA, AUG 17: The people of the Morni Hills will boycott the elections if the right of ownership of land is not restored to them. The statement was made here today by Sadhu Ram Saini, Chairman of the Shivalik Vikas Manch, at a press conference in Sector 9 today.
A former MLA, Saini said that around 250 land owners, whose land was taken over by the Forest Department, have been issued notices by the department and directed to vacate the land.
Elaborating on the issue, Saini said that the people have been living under deplorable conditions and that majority of them live below the poverty line. He added that human rights have been violated in the Morni Hills for years now.
Saini said that many villages do not even have water and electricity connections. He added that since 37,000 acre, out of 60,000-acre area of the Morni Hills, has been taken over by the forest department, the people are finding it hard to earn their livelihood.
Saini said that a rally has been planned for August 22, to protest against the action of the Forest Department.
On the recent announcement of the Chief Minister of renaming Kurukshetra University as Guru Gobind Singh University, he said a horticulture university of this name should be set up somewhere in the Shivalik hills to end this controversy.