Demographic change will stop in Uttarakhand with the introduction of land law! Know what are the provisions in the new law for this?
The Uttarakhand Assembly passed the Land Amendment Act by voice vote on Friday. It is being considered another major achievement of the Dhami government after the UCC. The government is claiming that this step will stop demographic change in Uttarakhand. The Dhami government claims that this will be the strictest land law ever. According to the amended land law, outsiders will no longer be able to buy agricultural and horticultural land in 11 districts of Uttarakhand. At the same time, if someone buys land to set up tourism, education, AYUSH and health related projects, then the concerned department will have to take approval from the registrar of the said district.
Demographic change is a big issue in Uttarakhand, about which the Dhami government has been constantly vocal. According to the government, it has tried to stop demographic change by first bringing UCC and now strict land law. In a special conversation with Aaj Tak, Uttarakhand Finance Minister Prem Chand Agarwal said, ‘People were buying land in Devbhoomi for some other purpose, the government has been taking a lot of action under the land law even before. Now, land occupation, illegal land purchase and sale will be stopped. Outsiders will not be able to buy land for wrong purposes in the mountains of Uttarakhand.’
Meanwhile, Congress MLA Qazi Nizamuddin said, ‘Like UCC, you are talking about demographic change in the land law. Where did the demographic change happen? People of Muslim community were living in Ranipur of Haridwar for 40 years, a person from the hill community became the chairman in Dhandhera of Roorkee. We say this is a good thing. But when we are talking about outsiders, you are stopping the small people. You were saying the same in UCC too. You brought live-in in UCC which is against our culture. Uttarakhand is called the energy state. You are doing a scam in the name of smart meters here, it should be investigated.’
Senior Congress leader and MLA Pritam Singh told Aaj Tak, ‘The amended land law has been brought when everything was looted. Now where are the lands left. The government has left out Haridwar and Udham Singh Nagar in the new law. In 2003, a strict land law came during the tenure of ND Tiwari. The Dhami government gives with one hand, then loots with both hands.’ At the same time, after the Land Law Amendment Bill was passed in the Assembly, Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami said in his address, ‘We will not let the basic form of Uttarakhand change. Whenever you go anywhere from Uttarakhand, people say look, he has come from Devbhoomi. We will not let the demography of this place change.’
