Dead tree crashes into home, damaging roof; lady receives just Rs. 15k in compensation

On April 19, severe winds caused a wayside tree in Kutheda Jaswalan hamlet to fall on a home and a cattleshed, severely damaging both.

The owner of the home, Asha Devi, said that she had spent the last few weeks rushing from department to department, asking the authorities to remove and chop down the dried-up tree that was located on Himachal Pradesh Public Works Department (PWD) property in order to prevent any adverse incidents.

But when the tree fell that night, shattering the house’s concrete-reinforced roof as well as the cow stable with a tin roof, she claimed her worst fears came true.

Asha Devi said that when she went to the PWD Assistant Engineer’s office in Gagret, she was informed that authorization from the Forest Department was required to confirm that the tree did, in fact, constitute a threat to the residence. Furthermore, the Revenue Department had to certify that the PWD was the legal owner of the property on which the tree was located.

The matter eventually made its way to the Gagret Sub-Divisional Magistrate’s court. A cross-departmental group was established to carry out a spot examination. In accordance with the SDM’s orders dated April 12, complainant Asha Devi filed a case in his court under Section 133(d) (1) CrPC, claiming that the state PWD owned the land, Khasra number 3770 in Kutheda Jaswalan village, under the category “Gair Mumkin Road,” on which a dried mango tree stood and was endangering the applicant’s home.

According to the directives, on April 5 and with the applicant’s consent, a joint committee made up of Assistant Engineer PWD Gagret, Assistant Engineer State Electricity Board, Forest Range Officer Amb, naib teshsildar Gagret, and pradhan of Gram Panchayat Kutheda Jaswalan inspected the location. The committee then submitted a report to Una Divisional Forest Officer. In order to ensure the safety of the occupants and the property, the DFO informed the court on April 10 that the tree was unsafe and needed to be destroyed.

On April 12, the PWD was given a one-month notice to remove the tree by the SDM’s court.On April 22, the PWD successfully removed the fallen tree from the home. The Revenue Department then evaluated the damage resulting from the occurrence and gave the family an instant payment of Rs 15,000, promising to reimburse them fully in accordance with the relief manual.

Asha Devi regretted how much time had been lost on formalities and realized that her home and livestock shed may still be intact if the tree had been removed sooner. “Any relief the government provides will not be enough to restore the structure to its previous level of strength,” she lamented.

“Money lost on formal procedures”

In Kutheda Jaswalan village, Asha Devi’s home and a cattleshed suffered significant damage on April 19 when a wayside tree fell on them during high winds.
Asha Devi regretted how much time had been lost on formalities and realized that her home and livestock shed may still be intact if the tree had been removed sooner.
“Any relief the government provides will not be enough to restore the structure to its previous level of strength,” she lamented.