UKD advocates for stricter land laws, domicile policy

HARIDWAR: Uttarakhand Kranti Dal (UKD) has advocated for stricter land laws, increased employment opportunities for locals, and a cap on land acquisition by outsiders, officials said on Monday.

UKD’s central working president, Dinesh Chandra Bhatt, asserted that if the party secures power in the 2027 Assembly election, it will enact stringent land laws and a domicile policy to protect the interests of local residents. “Despite being 24 years since the state’s formation, Uttarakhand lacks robust, inclusive land laws. UKD pledges to introduce stricter land laws and a domicile certificate policy to safeguard the interests of locals,” Bhatt said.

UKD chief further criticised the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Congress-led state governments for not meeting the expectations of locals, statehood agitators, and martyrs who sacrificed their lives for the creation of Uttarakhand.

UKD general secretary, Sushil Uniyal, highlighted concerns about domicile certificates being issued to individuals residing in the state for just over a decade. He argued that this jeopardises the future of those who actively participated in the statehood movement, while individuals who opposed the state’s separation from Uttar Pradesh are now exploiting loopholes in domicile and land policies for their benefit.

Responding to these concerns, BJP’s Haridwar district vice-president Love Sharma assured that chief minister Pushkar

Singh Dhami has emphasised on protecting the interests of local residents. Sharma said the CM recently directed district magistrates to halt the sale of land to non-Uttarakhand residents for agricultural and horticultural purposes until the committee on land law submits its report.

Four rallies have been organised across the state since December last year to push for declaration of 1950 as the cut off for the domicile and stricter land laws in the state, with the latest in Kotdwar on Sunday. Earlier, similar rallies were held in Dehradun, Haldwani last year and Tehri Garhwal district on February 11.

The Uttarakhand government in December last year had constituted a five-member drafting committee for a detailed examination of the report submitted by the committee on land laws. The panel is headed by then additional chief secretary Radha Raturi (who is now chief secretary). The committee constituted for the study and examination of land law in Uttarakhand, had submitted its report to CM Dhami in September last year with 23 recommendations.

Dhami had set up the committee to make recommendations for striking a balance between the requirement of land for industrial development projects in the state and the preservation of land that is available in Uttarakhand.

UKD CHIEF HIT OUT AT BJP, CONG-LED GOVTS FOR NOT MEETING THE EXPECTATION OF THE LOCALS, STATEHOOD ACTIVISTS WHO WERE KEY IN THE FORMATION OF UTTARAKHAND