Shimla—In a significant decision, the Himachal Pradesh High Court has stayed the transfer of 112 hectares of land of Chaudhary Sarwan Kumar Agricultural University (CSKAU) in Palampur to the state tourism department. A division bench of Justice Vivek Singh Thakur and Justice Ranjan Sharma passed the order after a preliminary hearing on a petition filed by the Himachal Pradesh Agriculture Teachers Association.
The state government had planned to allot land for the development of a tourism village in Kangra, which led to protests and legal challenges. The court order has stayed further action on the transfer till the next hearing on October 17. The judges have issued notices to key officials, including the chief secretary, principal secretary of agriculture and principal secretary of tourism, seeking their response on the petition.
The petitioner argued that using the land of the agriculture university for tourism purposes is legally flawed, as the state has other land available for such projects. The agricultural university, a historic institution, has played a key role in regional agricultural research since the 1950s, when it began as a regional centre of the Punjab Agricultural University in Ludhiana, before Kangra was incorporated in Himachal Pradesh.
The university, which originally had 400 hectares of land, has lost 125 hectares to various government departments over the years. Opponents of the land transfer, including the employees’ union and several local organisations, claim that further reduction in the university’s land will leave little space for its expansion and ongoing agricultural research.
The applicant institute said, “Land allotted for agricultural research should not be used for non-agricultural purposes such as tourism.” They fear that the proposed tourism village will undermine the institute’s mission and compromise future agricultural development in the region.
Despite this opposition, the university’s board of governors had already given its consent to transfer the land to the tourism department. The state government says the tourism village will promote regional development and boost the local economy.
However, a stay order from the High Court has put the project on hold, giving time for a detailed examination of the legal and practical consequences of the land transfer. The matter is drawing the attention of local organisations and government departments, with both parties awaiting the Court’s final decision on the matter.
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