Dehradun: After Himachal Pradesh, the Uttarakhand government may soon bring in a law to discourage non-natives from buying land in the Himalayan state. A special committee on land law set up by CM Pushkar Singh Dhami has finalized its report which goes against land ownership rights for non-natives, ThePrint has learned.
While committee members declined to share the contents of the draft report, sources familiar with it said the draft report contains stringent provisions aimed at discouraging non-residents from buying land in the hilly regions of Uttarakhand.
According to sources, the draft report supports a complete ban on land ownership rights for non-natives in the hilly regions of the state. Sources said the committee would recommend leasing out land in the hills to non-natives to retain the ownership rights of the local people.
“The report has been finalised. It will be formalized on August 23 and will be handed over to the government after the CM gives time for the meeting. The report will be submitted to the CM before the end of this month,” committee chairman and former state chief secretary Subhash Kumar told ThePrint
When asked about the recommendations in the draft report, Kumar said it is “against the protocol to divulge the contents of the report, but all efforts have been made to uphold the ethos of the mandate given to the committee”.
The main goal of the committee, he said, was to “uphold the land ownership rights of the original inhabitants of the state, without affecting the development of the state”.
Kumar said the committee prepared the draft report after making an in-depth study of the existing land laws of the state and “the need for changes in the interest of the people of Uttarakhand”.
Officials on condition of anonymity said the draft report also advocates limiting the size of land for a single industrial unit to 12.5 acres (1 acre equals 4,047 square meters) in select areas of the state.
It speaks in favor of allotment of land for industrial purposes HP Pattern and abolishing all previous tax concessions given to industries in the state. As per the Himachal Pradesh Tenancy and Land Reforms 1972, any person wishing to purchase land outside municipal areas for setting up an industrial unit is required to obtain a clearance from the requisite authorities – this approval is granted only when the authorization is for the use of the applicant. Be satisfied about the ability to do so. land for a specified purpose.
Other important recommendations made in the draft report include curtailment and cancellation of land allotment rights of district magistrates. Provisions that allow changes in the use of agricultural land.
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Scraping 2018 Provisions
In addition, the draft report has been recommended to be scrapped. provision Created in 2018 by the government of former CM Trivendra Singh Rawat, which lifted restrictions on non-domiciles wanting to buy local agricultural land for industrial purposes.
Before Dhami took over the reins of the state in July 2021, the then-CM Rawat-led Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in Uttarakhand, in 2018, amended the law to remove the 12.5-acre upper limit on the purchase of land in hilly areas. did. For industrial purposes of the State – for medical, health and educational business activities only.
it was done by introduction The Uttarakhand Amendment Act, 2018 to add two sections – 143(a) and 154(2) – to the Uttar Pradesh Zamindari Abolition and Land Reforms Act, 1950.
Now, the draft report of the Land Law Committee is clearly in favor of scrapping the 2018 amendment, sources said.
When asked about the recommendations in the draft report, BJP leader and a member of the committee, Ajendra Ajay, said he was “obliged not to disclose the contents of the report”.
“But it is true that the interests of the landowners in the hilly areas will be protected in every possible way. This was also done in the wake of large cases of non-Uttarakhand natives buying land on the hills at throwaway prices, which resulted in demographic shifts in many places,” Ajay told ThePrint.
He also confirmed that the draft report is “ready” and “will be submitted to the government after the final meeting of the committee on Monday”.
Ajay was among BJP leaders in Uttarakhand who launched a campaign demanding a state-centric legislation similar to Himachal Pradesh’s to discourage the sale and purchase of land by non-natives in the state’s hilly areas. He also wrote to CM Dhami in July 2021, stating that the purchase of agricultural land by non-domiciles has led to a “demographic change” in some parts of the state. The BJP leader asked the state government to “declare the entire hilly region of the state as a special area, ban the construction of religious places of a particular community and make special provisions for sale and purchase of land” in select areas of the state. was. ,
Dhami then directed the state home department and the Director General of Police (DGP) to look into the matter and submit a report. However, according to home department officials, no formal report was prepared and feedback was given to the chief minister during several meetings.
After this deliberation, Chief Minister Dhami constituted a special committee to study the existing land laws of Uttarakhand and submit a report with recommendations in this regard.
(Edited by Amritansh Arora)