Shimla Orchard Owner To Get Over Rs 1 Crore Compensation For Landslide Damage

A week after describing damage to land and apple trees due to landslides near Dhalli in Shimla as an “act of god”, the National Highways Authority of India has changed its stand and agreed to pay Rs 1.80 crore as compensation to the orchard owner for the loss, officials said.

Narinder Singh Rathore, who had filed a case in the National Green Tribunal (NGT) seeking compensation for the loss of around 440 apple trees, told PTI on Wednesday that he has withdrawn the case after the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) agreed to pay a compensation of Rs 1.80 crore for his loss.

During the incessant rains that lashed the region in May 2025, Rathore's orchard was severely damaged due to landslides allegedly triggered by a four-laning project of the NHAI.

In an affidavit submitted on May 19, 2026, the NHAI termed the damages an “act of god” and refused to take the blame for Rathore's loss.

However, it has now changed its stand and agreed to pay adequate compensation to the affected family after assessments made by the public works department and the horticulture department, officials said.

As part of the compensation package, the NHAI will purchase Rathore's 1.5 bighas of land that was badly damaged by the debris, apart from paying him for the damages caused to about 440 apple trees.

“Our family has been living here and growing fruits for generations but god acted only after the NHAI started cutting hills at 90 degrees to build national highways, construct tunnels and four-lanes,” Rathore said sarcastically.

The horticulture department had put the total damages caused to apple trees at Rs 40 lakh but the NHAI contested the claim after an independent site visit, saying that only 40 apple trees were actually damaged.

It also placed on record a May 2025 report of the India Meteorological Department (IMD), which said Shimla received 104.5 mm of rainfall against a normal of 69.8 mm during the period under review.

Terming landslides an extraordinary natural event that constitutes an “act of god”, the NHAI had argued that the occurrence was beyond its “reasonable anticipation and control”. 

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