It was necessary to develop Devbhoomi while maintaining the mountain identity and the sanctity of Devbhoomi. Now there will be strict land laws and their implementation in Uttarakhand. Given the limited land property in the state, the BJP government and organization are serious about the land law issue. With the demand for strict land law in Uttarakhand intensifying, there has been a stir from the Revenue Council to the government level.

For this, strict arrangements are being ensured in the new Revenue Code of Uttarakhand. A “Subhash Kumar Committee” was formed, and after its report came and was approved, Chief Minister Pushkar Dhami gave instructions to implement these recommendations.

It will be arranged in the Revenue Code how the points raised in the committee’s report can be brought within the legal ambit. This preparation of the Revenue Council will be finalized in the next meeting to be held under the chairmanship of the Chief Secretary.

Those demanding strict land laws are opposing the amendments made in Uttarakhand in the year 2017 the most. To increase investment in the Trivendra government, the scope of land purchase for agriculture, horticulture, industry, tourism, energy, education, health as well as commercial and industrial works was increased from 12.5 acres to 30 acres. Along with this, arrangements were also made for purchasing land of more than 30 acres in special cases. In the ND Tiwari government in 2002, for the first time, a rule was made for outsiders to purchase land up to 500 square meters. The BC Khanduri government reduced it to 250 square meters, although with special approval from the government level.

Until a strict land law is implemented, the government has changed the process of land purchase by outsiders. Under this, the purpose of the land purchase will have to be told. Land buyers will be verified.

Thano, Bhogpur, and Maldevta have become hot spots in Dehradun. In Tehri, more land is being sold in Dhanolti, Nainbagh, Thatyud, between Chamba to New Tehri, including Ranichori area, Yamkeshwar, Kotdwar, Dugadda, Ramnagar, Bhawali, Bhimtal, Ramgarh, Mukteshwar, Dhanachuli, Ranikhet, Kausani, Jageshwar.

Strict land law will soon be implemented in Uttarakhand on the lines of Himachal. Only farmers can buy agricultural land in Himachal. In Himachal, even non-farmers cannot buy agricultural land. There is a provision in section 118 of ‘Control on Transfer of Land’, chapter 11 of the Himachal Pradesh Tenancy and Land Reforms Act, 1972, to ban the transfer of land to non-agriculturists. At present, revenue laws are scattered in Uttarakhand. There are many different types of laws including the Z A Act and the Non-Z A Act. All these revenue rules will be organized through the Revenue Code.

Article written by and Editorial credit: State Bureau Chief Himanshu Nauriyal.