Week after calling landslide damages 'an act of god', NHAI agrees to pay Rs 1.80 cr compensation to Shimla orchard owner

On May 19, 2026, NHAI submitted an affidavit, where the authorities called the damages an "act of god" and refused to take the blame for orchard owner's loss.

Shimla: Week after calling landslide damages in Shimla as an "act of god", the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) changed its stand and agreed to pay RS 1.80 crore compensation to the orchard owner for the loss, officials said.

This comes after Narinder Singh Rathore filed a case in the National Green Tribunal (NGT) seeking compensation for the loss of around 440 apple trees. However, on Wednesday, Rathore told PTI that he has withdrawn the case after NHAI agreed to pay for his loss.

In May 2025, during the incessant rains near Dhalli in Shimla, Rathore's orchard was severely damaged due to landslides allegedly triggered by NHAI's four-lane project.

On May 19, 2026, NHAI submitted an affidavit, where the authorities called the damages an "act of god" and refused to take the blame for Rathore's loss.

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

The NHAI will purchase Rathore's 1.5 bighas of land which has been severely damaged by the debris, and will pay him for the damages caused to approximately 440 apple trees as part of the compensation.

Rathore said, "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."

According to the horticulture department, the total damages caused to apple trees is of Rs 40 lakh, however, NHAI contested this claim after an independent site visit, and said that onlu 40 apple trees were actually damaged.

Citing the May 2025 report of the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD), it said that Shimla received 104.5 mm of rainfall against a normal of 69.8 mm during the period under review.

NHAI, terming the landslides an extraordinary natural event that constitutes an "act of god", argued that the event was beyond its "reasonable anticipation and control".