Shimla, April 17 (PTI) Allotment of Nautor land to tribal people engaged in farming in the border areas of Himachal Pradesh would stop their migration from the region, state minister Jagat Singh Negi said on Thursday.

Nautor land refers to unutilised land outside towns, but not in protected forests, which authorities can decide to allow people to use. It can be notified from time to time by the state government, with the sanction of the competent authority.

Nautor rules provide for giving up to 20 bighas of additional land to tribals who are in possession of land less than 20 bighas. The governor has to suspend the Forest Conservation Act to enable any allotment of Nautor land. “Many tribal people living in the border areas are unemployed as there are no industries there. If land is allotted to them under Nautor, the problem of unemployment would be resolved, the economy would improve and the borders would be strengthened with the presence of people,” Negi, who holds the revenue, horticulture and tribal development portfolios, told PTI Videos on Thursday.

While land was given under the Nautor law, after the Forest Conservation Act (FCA), 1980, came into existence, permission had to be sought from the Union government for the use of forest land, he said.

However, Article 5 of the Constitution gives power to the governor to suspend the FCA for some time, the Congress MLA from Kinnaur said.

The FCA was suspended twice from 2014-16 and again from 2016-18, Negi said, adding that a proposal was sent to the governor for suspending the FCA for some time to give Nautor land to tribals in 2023.

“The matter is under the consideration of the governor. All queries in this regard have been answered and the information sought by the Raj Bhavan has been provided. I met the governor in this context five times and would meet him again.” Negi said.

“China has already infiltrated into Arunachal Pradesh and Ladakh. The tribal districts of Kinnaur and Lahaul-Spiti share a 240 km border with China, which is traversed by nine high-altitude mountain passes,” he added. PTI BPL ARI