Massive rally seeks tough land laws, domicile
PrashantNews
With the domicile issue hotting up in Uttarakhand, thousands of people on Sunday gathered in Dehradun to hold a massive rally seeking restoration of tough land laws and making 1950 as the cutoff date for the domicile certificates.
Holding placards and flags, people mostly youngsters, began assembling at Parade Ground in the morning for the rally. By noon, thousands of people have gathered there and started raising slogans demanding 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, the convener of the rally, said the people of Uttarakhand will continue to fight for their rights till all their demands including 1950 as the cutoff date for domicile and strong land laws 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 on the issue and has set up a committee headed by additional chief secretary to look into the domicile issue.
Uttrakhand is still not a developed state. After hosting recent Investors Summit, is it possible for Uttrakhand government to switch for tougher land laws. On what basis 1950 has been selected as cut off year. Thousands of refugees were settled in Dehradun and other parts of Uttrakhand after partition.
Tougher land laws are definitely required as people of some particular community are settling here enmasse. Interestingly they are happy only with 50 square meters of land, which is affordable and permissible as per land laws.
Laws are required to stop this migration of people which is eating jobs of local people as well as allowing demographic shift in population.