Uttarakhand Plans Tough Land Law to Curb Purchases By Non-Residents

To combat large-scale land purchases in the hilly areas of Uttarakhand by people from outside the state, the state government is set to introduce a "stringent land purchase law" during the upcoming assembly budget session.

This announcement was made by Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami on Friday.

The state government plans to identify non-residents who have violated existing regulations permitting the purchase of only 250 sqm of land for personal use in non-municipal areas.

The CM said that the government intends to reclaim land that has been illegally acquired by those who circumvented these regulations.

Allegations have surfaced regarding multiple cases where buyers have flouted regulations by acquiring land under the names of relatives or failing to follow through on their commitments to develop land purchased for commercial use, and instead "increased their personal land bank."

Currently, non-residents are allowed to buy up to 250 sqm of land outside municipal limits for personal use.

For commercial purposes, such as tourism, industries, health, and education, the BJP government had revised the law in 2017, increasing the permissible land limit from 12.5 acres to 30 acres.

“We are initiating an inquiry to identify individuals who bought land in the names of family members, as well as those who did not fulfil their promise of setting up commercial ventures after purchasing large plots. In both cases, all land procured through dubious means will be taken back," Uttarakhand CM Dhami said, Times of India reported.

The Uttarakhand CM further said the government is working on a new law to address land purchase.

“This legislation will look into various issues and stop unwanted transactions in pockets outside municipal areas,” he said.

“In 2017, amendments were made, but we did not receive positive results. Earlier, permission for buying land was given by the government, but the amendment allowed district magistrates to approve land acquisitions. As a result, people made commitments to set up activities in sectors of tourism, processing, health, and education to buy major chunks of land, but after purchasing it, they did not start the work. Our teams will compile these details,” Dhami said.

The Chief Minister noted that a state committee is reviewing land ownership across Uttarakhand. He also assured that legitimate investors have nothing to worry about.

“We will take action only against those who are buying land for personal gain. Genuine investors will face no problem. We are committed to fostering progress while curbing illegal practices,” he said.

Land purchase restrictions for non-residents were initially introduced between 2002-2007 when the Congress-led government imposed a 500 sqm cap on residential land purchases outside municipal limits.

The BJP government later reduced this limit to 250 sqm during its 2007-2012 tenure.

Furthermore, purchases of agricultural land by people from other states were also banned.

However, in 2017, under the then CM Trivendra Singh Rawat, the BJP government lifted these restrictions to attract investment, permitting the purchase of up to 30 acres for commercial activities such as tourism and agriculture.

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