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Bhanu P Lohumi
Hailing from a family of politicians, four-time MLA from tribal Kinnaur constituency in Himachal — Jagat Singh Negi — has a difficult task at hand, which is to get nautaur land allotted to the landless.
Under nautaur rules, land up to 20 bighas (four acres) can be given to eligible persons and relevant clause of the Forest Conversation Act 1980 was suspended till December 2018. The process of the allotment of land was initiated during the previous Congress government.
However, after the new BJP government came to power, not even a single case has been approved. The pendency of cases is about 10,000, of which 3,000 are under process.
Negi, whose father Gyan Singh Negi was the first MLA from Kinnaur, focused on road construction and other developmental projects, but now, he is vigorously pursuing the cases of the landless people for the grant of nautor land.
Road connectivity to areas of Pandrah Bees (15/20) is another priority for the MLA. Work is on, but 2-3 villages are yet to be connected by road. Irrigation, quality education and providing quality rootstocks of apple to horticulturists are his other focus areas.
Born on February 2, 1957, at Kalpa in Kinnaur district, Jagat Singh Negi did his graduation from DAV College, Chandigarh, and LLB from Punjab University. He is married and has a son and a daughter.
He entered the State Legislative Assembly by winning the by-election caused by the death of Dev Raj Negi in July 1995 and was re-elected in 2003, 2012 and 2017 and remained the Parliamentary Secretary from April 18, 2005, to August 18, 2005; chairman, Subordinate Legislation Committee for a short stint and Deputy Speaker from March 2013 to December 2017.
During his present term, he has been nominated as member, Estimates and General Development Committees and is also the Chief Whip of the Congress Legislature Party.
A champion of cause of horticulturists, he remained the founder president, District Apple and Vegetable Growers' Association, Kinnaur (1980-1995); president, District Bar Association, Kinnaur (1980-1995); vice-president and president, state football association in 1996 and from 2005-09; and vice-chairman, Himachal Pradesh State Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe Development Corporation (1996-97).
He has keen interest in social work and trekking and reading are his favourite pastimes. An active sportsman during college days, he represented Haryana in the National Junior Hockey Championship in Madras, 1977, and was a member of DAV College Chandigarh hockey team, which was a winner of Punjab University Inter-College Hockey Championship in 1977-78.
He is well-conversant in Hindi and English and has visited Bangladesh.
Jagat Singh Negi (61)
Party: Congress
Qualification: Graduate from DAV College, Chandigarh, and LLB from Punjab University
Constituency: Kinnaur
Political background: He entered the State Legislative Assembly by winning the by-election caused by the death of Dev Raj Negi in July 1995 and was re-elected in 2003, 2012 and 2017. During his present term, he has been nominated as member, Estimates and General Development Committees and is also the Chief Whip of the Congress Legislature Party.
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