The bill introduced by Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami’s government to amend the Uttar Pradesh Zamindari Abolition Act, 1950 — commonly referred to as the "Land Law" — does not prevent land grabbing but instead creates a more convoluted pathway for it.
In 2018, under the leadership of Chief Minister Trivendra Rawat, Section 154(2) was added to the Act, removing the upper limit on land acquisition for industrial purposes. This change opened the doors for large-scale land grabs under the guise of industrial development.
The new amendment brought by Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami repeals Section 154(2) but replaces it with a similar provision under Section 154(2A). According to this section, land transfers will only take place in Haridwar and Udham Singh Nagar districts. However, the law states that these provisions will not apply to urban municipal areas, creating a major loophole that can still be exploited.
Moreover, the amendment to Section 156 allows land to be leased for up to 30 years across the entire state for various purposes, from agriculture and horticulture to alternative energy projects. This essentially puts the state’s lands on the radar of land sharks, exposing them to unchecked exploitation.
During Trivendra Rawat’s tenure, an amendment to Section 143 added a subsection (a), which automatically converted agricultural land bought for industrial purposes into non-agricultural land. Since the current amendment does not address this provision, it will remain in force, further facilitating land grabs.
Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami took a long time to act on land law reforms — from forming a committee under former Chief Secretary Subhash Kumar in August 2021 to now introducing these amendments. In all this time, a completely new and comprehensive law could have been drafted. Instead, the amendments presented fail to protect the state’s lands from large landowners and corporate interests.
What Uttarakhand truly needs is a thorough land settlement process. Land reforms should be implemented, ensuring land distribution to the landless, especially Dalits in the hill regions. A robust law must be enacted to protect agricultural lands, and concrete measures should be taken to make mountain farming productive and profitable. Additionally, the state must take steps to reclaim and cultivate the 88,141 hectares of barren land.
Only such measures will safeguard the rights and livelihoods of the people of Uttarakhand, rather than the half-hearted amendments currently on the table.
- Issued by Indresh Maikhuri, State Secretary, CPI(ML) Uttarakhand
