The Uttarakhand Cabinet on Wednesday approved a new draft law banning people from outside the state from buying agricultural and horticultural land in 11 of the state’s 13 districts. The revised land law will be tabled in the ongoing budget session which will conclude on February 24.
This might be the end of road for outsiders who were planning to buy land for business or residential purposed in the hill state.
However, while the proposed draft law bans people from outside to buy land in the state, the government assured that it would ensure no atmosphere of fear for industries and new investors. Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami called the decision historic, adding that the new law will help protect the state resources.
Highlights of proposed land law
- The proposed draft law restricts people from outside the state from buying horticulture and agriculture land in 11 of 13 districts, except Haridwar and Udham Singh Nagar, of the state.
- It annuls all the provisions of the 2018 Trivendra Rawat government. If passed, the bill will nullify changes made to the Uttarakhand (Uttar Pradesh) Zamindari Abolition and Land Reforms Act, 1950 by the government led by Rawat.
- The district magistrates will no longer have the authority to grant permission for land purchases and all DMs will have to regularly report all land purchases to the Revenue Council and the government.
- If the proposed draft is passed in the Assembly, an affidavit will be made mandatory for people from outside the state when purchasing land.
- Within municipal boundaries, land use will be restricted to designated purposes. If the land is used contrary to the rules, it will be vested in the government.
- A portal will be created for land purchases in the state. It will track even a single inch of land purchased by people from outside the state.
- Land consolidation and settlement will take place in the hills.
Announcing the Cabinet's decision, Dhami posted on X, “Our government is fully committed to protecting the interests of the people and we will never let their trust get broken. This decision makes it clear that we will make every possible effort to protect our state and culture. Certainly, this law will also prove to help maintain the original form of the state."
To craft the law, the government has conducted assessments at various levels. It formed a high-level committee, chaired by former Chief Secretary Subhash Kumar, to review the current law and draft recommendations based on public consultations.
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