PrashantNews
The Uttarakhand cabinet on Wednesday gave its approval to a tough land law amendment bill to control unbridled sale-purchase of land in the hill state.
The bill would be tabled in the on going budget session of the Vidhan Sabha in Dehradun, Parliamentary Minister Prem Chand Agarwal said.
“Today, the cabinet has approved a strict land law while fully respecting the long-standing demand of the people of the state and their sentiments. This historic step will protect the resources of the state, cultural heritage and the rights of the citizens, as well as play an important role in maintaining the original identity of the state,” Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami said on X after the cabinet meeting.
“Our government is fully committed to (safeguard) the interests of the people and we will never let their trust break. This decision makes it clear that we will make every possible effort to protect our state and culture. Certainly, this law will also help in maintaining the original form of the state,” the CM said.
With the issue hotting up in Uttarakhand, thousands of people have been demanding restoration of tough land laws and making 1950 as the cutoff date for the domicile certificates. The people have also held a series of public rallies in this regard in Dehradun and other parts of the hill state.
People have demanded restoration of strong land laws which were relaxed during the tenure of the erstwhile Trivendra Singh Rawat government. Rawat had taken a decision to relax land laws in his bid to boost the industrialization process in the state.
Mohit Dimiri, a social activist said Uttarakhand will continue to fight till their all demands including 1950 as the cutoff date for domicile are met.
Dimiri said the government must restrict the purchase of land to 250 sq meter only in the state. Former Chief Minister B C Khanduri had toughened the land laws putting a ceiling of 250 sq meter which was later struck down by the High Court. In 2003, the Congress government framed a law where the government’s permission was necessary for purchase of more than 500 square meters of land. Later Khanduri restricted the provision to 250 sq meter only in 2007.
Meanwhile, the state government is taking a cautious approach and has set up a committee headed by the chief secretary to look into the domicile issue.
Uttrakhand government is taking a right step for bringing tough land laws. After formation of Uttrakhand state in 2001, unprecedented migration was witnessed in the state. Initially it was for industrialization, as newly formed state offered many tax benefits to set up new industries.
But in last ten years we have seen migration of illegal people, such as Rohingyas and Bangladeshis. There was no proper check on their migration. All rivers like Rispana and Bindal are now full of illegal colonies. All political parties promise to regularize these colonies, as it’s a sure vote bank.
Similarly many skilled workers like electricians, plumbers, construction labors migrated from neighboring states, especially from UP. Bijnor and Saharanpur cities being in proximity to Uttrakhand are major suppliers of skilled workers.
Now these people wants to settle permanently in Uttrakhand.
So besides the need of becoming tough land laws there is also need of stopping illegal migration.