By Arun Pratap Singh
Dehradun, 18 Oct: The Pushkar Singh Dhami Government has promised a strict land law to prevent indiscriminate purchase of land by ‘outsiders’ in the state. However, some land laws which restrict purchase of land by these outsiders, particularly in the rural areas, already exist but have never been implemented in right earnest or with sincere intentions. There are innumerable cases where outsiders have procured land allegedly for a specified purpose, but never used it for the declared purpose. There are also a number of cases where agriculture land (obviously outside the municipal limits of any district) has been allowed to be purchased by the outsiders, in violation of the laws that were enacted in 2003 by the then ND Tiwari Government and later made even more strict by the then BC Khanduri Government. The laws restrict outsiders from purchasing any plot beyond 250 square metres outside the municipal limits. However, the law was amended in 2017 by the then Trivendra Singh Rawat Government which relaxed many provisions ostensibly to encourage industrial investment.
In several cases, active backing and role of the revenue officials who approve change of land use from agriculture to non-agriculture after the purchase of land is also seen. One such prominent case is currently viral in social and political circles in the state. Here, a New Delhi (Okhla) based company called Sanarti Corporation run by a family had purchased a large plot of land comprising an area of 14.22 hectares in 2011 in Barkot Mafi in Ranipokhri (which was then totally a rural area). The authorities were lenient in the case and the Doon Valley Special Area Authority approved the change of land use of this land from agriculture to tourism. Sanarti Corporation had specified in its application for land use change that the land would be used to set up a tourist resort, amusement park, spiritual yoga centre, wellness centre, swimming pool and spa centre and a botanical park, etc. Following an application by the corporation, the land use of this large plot of land was changed from agriculture to tourism and for this the firm was charged a land use fee of around Rs 60 lakhs. M/s Sanarti Corporation deposited the land use fee soon after the approval. However, the firm did not use the land for the declared purpose, but the administration kept on looking the other way. It may be recalled here, that as per the existing rules as amended in 2017, the government has a right to vest the land in itself if it is not used for the declared purpose within 2 years after the purchase. No such action was taken by the government in this case.
It is learnt that M/s Sanarti Corporation sold off this land to Saksham Chaudhary, son of Mempal Chaudhary, a resident of Arya Nagar Colony in Jwalapur (Haridwar) last year. As per the existing provisions, the firm had no legal rights or permission to sell this land. The company was required to seek and obtain government permission to sell this land under the law, but it was never sought or obtained thus making the deal’s legal validity questionable. The then ADM, KK Mishra, had also questioned the legal validity of the registry and had objected to mutation in this case. However, before any concrete action could be taken in the case by the district administration, Mishra was transferred out and was replaced by Ramji Sharan Sharma as the new ADM. The Chaudhary family, meanwhile, after purchasing this land again applied for change of land use back to agriculture from tourism. Taking cognisance of a case decided by a tribunal in Karnataka, ADM Ramji Sharan Sharma approved the change of land use back from tourism to agriculture. The file noting by the then ADM claimed that as per the decision of the tribunal from Bengaluru, if land use of agriculture land is converted to non-agriculture but not used for the purpose for two years, then it can still be considered to be agricultural land. On this “ground” the land use was changed to agriculture without seeking legal opinion or permission from the state government. Not only this, the ADM also approved a heavy discount on stamp duty fee for the land use change in this case.
Incidentally, the Chaudhary family started selling this land in smaller plots to various parties even when the land use remained as agriculture in the government documents. It may be pertinent to remind here that Ramji Sharan Sharma was in May this year suspended for alleged negligence towards election duty but after revoking his suspension was later appointed as Registrar of Uttarakhand Ayurved University.
It is now learnt that the landowners are now lobbying for mutation of the plots sold already or to be sold in future. It remains to be seen what stand the government, which is now claiming to bring a very strict land law soon, take in this case. According to several experts on land and revenue laws, this is a fit case for the government to vest this land in itself.
