The government was planning to give land rights to Pong Dam oustees under the Forest Rights Act, (FRA) 2006. According to sources, there were about 300 Pong Dam oustees were landless.
These landless Dam oustees were labourers and artisans who were working on the lands of landowners before 1966 when land of 300 villages along Beas river in Kangra district was acquired for the construction of Pong Dam Lake.
While the landowners got compensation for acquisition of land, the landless labourers and artisans did not get anything. Sources said that there was provision in compensation norms that the Rajasthan government would provide these artisans and labourers pucca houses and other amenities in the areas where the Pong Dam oustees were settled. However, at that point of time none of artisans and labourers applied for pucca houses and other amenities from the Rajasthan government.
Most of these labourers and artisans were living on village common land and did not have any land in their name. When their villages were submerged in the Pong Dam Lake these labourers moved uphill and settled on common land. However, the Himachal government converted all common lands in the state to forest lands in 1980. This made the landless Pong Dam oustees encroachers on forest land. Till date they are struggling to get land rights even of the houses in which they are staying for past about 60 years.
Minister for Revenue, Jagat Singh Negi, who recently chaired the meeting of Pong Dam oustees state level committee in Dharamsala, when asked, said the claims of landless Pong Dam oustees would be settled under the Forest Rights Act, 2006. He said that about 300 landless Pong Dam oustees had applied to district administration of Kangra for allotment of land. “We are requesting other left out landless Pong Dam oustees also to apply for allotment of land under the Forest Rights Act, 2006 so that there claims can be considered and settled,” he said.
The sources here said that the Forest Right Act, 2006 has the provision of providing land rights to people who were settled and were using the forest land as a community before 2005. The people, who had settled on forest land before 2005, can apply to the village level committees formed under the Forest Rights Act to get land right. Hundreds are Pong Dam oustees are seeing ray of hope in provisions of Forest Rights Act now to get land rights.
Left-out oustees told to apply
Minister for Revenue Jagat Singh Negi, who recently chaired the meeting of Pong Dam oustees state level committee in Dharamsala, said the claims of landless Pong Dam oustees would be settled under the Forest Rights Act, 2006
He said that about 300 landless Pong Dam oustees had applied to district administration of Kangra for allotment of land
We are requesting other left out landless Pong Dam oustees also to apply for allotment of land under the Forest Rights Act, 2006, so that there claims can be considered and settled, he said.