Civil society representatives meet Secretary Revenue, GOU and demand concrete land act on the lines of Himachal Pradesh

While all the political parties are busy preparing for the assembly elections in Uttarakhand various social organisations are busy campaigning for deriving support for introduction of a concrete land act on the lines of the one in Himachal Pradesh in order to maintain its demography and ensuring that Uttarakhand does not lose its vast tracts of agricultural and non agricultural land to large outside builders, land mafias, corporate houses and ultra capitalists.

The social media these days is full of such campaigns of mobilisation by youths, students, women and men including protest demonstrations, dharnas and padyatras in various nooks and corners of Uttarakhand Kumaon and Garhwal divisions under different banners.

One such organisation known as ” Sakht Bhu Kanoon”, has, already announced holding of a 700 kilometres “Bhu Kannon janjagran Yatra”, in Garhwal and Uttarakhand likely to start in the month of November, 2021.

According to its convenor Prabhat Kumar Karal the office bearers of Sakht Bhu Kanoon and Civil Society comprising of the office bearers of various social organisations fighting for this land act in Uttarakhand presented a memorandum to the secretary Revenue, government of Uttarakhand, head of the Land Reforms Committee formed by the government demanding introduction of a concrete land act in Uttarakhand on the lines of Himachal Pradesh, revoking the earlier ordinance of Uttarakhand government to allow purchase of more than 12.5 acres of land for establishing industries in Uttarakhand, thus abolishing the ceiling of 12.5 acre.

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The memorandum primarily raised three important points in their memorandum, the first and main point being the dependence of the state government on agricultural lands of the himalayan state terming it the main n basic source for building industries for the sustenance and survival of the inhabitants of Uttarakhand.

The memorandum also sheds light on the demographic changes, national security and the land security act prevalent in all the Himalayan states.

The Civil society while interacting with the Secretary Revenue has strongly demanded enactment of a concrete land act of Uttarakhand by bringing an ordinance and revoking the changes done in the Uttar Pradesh Zamindari Unmulan and Bhumi Sudhar adhiniyam 1950 by bringing all the hill districts under the jurisdiction of the clause 157 ( K) of the above law.

It highlighted the Himachal Pradesh government’s act namely Kashtkari avom Bhumi Sudhar Adhiniyam 1972’s clause 118 and demanded bringing the concrete land act of these lines.

It demanded ban on sale of agricultural land and non agricultural land to outsiders in Uttarakhand for at least thirty years as per the above act as in Himachal Pradesh.

The memorandum also highlights the issue of Chakbandi and questioned that if the Union territory of Ladakh, Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and North Eastern States have their concrete land acts why can’t Uttarakhand has its strong land act and why a step motherly treatment to the inhabitants of Uttarakhand.

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