By Arun Pratap Singh
Garhwal Post Bureau
Dehradun, 4 Jun: On the directions of District Magistrate, Lalit Mohan Rayal, the Nainital district administration has taken firm action against violations of land use regulations. In these cases, the court of District Magistrate Lalit Mohan Rayal has ordered several plots to be vested in favour of the state government after hearings in multiple cases. The action was initiated in such cases where the land allotted or purchased for agriculture, horticulture or residential purposes was found being used for commercial activities, or where conditions of land use change were violated.
In the first case from village Chhada in the Kainchi Dham area, land allotted on lease to Anand Singh and Rajendra Singh for agricultural purposes was found to have residential houses and shops constructed upon it. The court cancelled the lease of 0.033 hectares and ordered the land to be vested in the state government.
In another case from Talli area of Haldwani, 750 square feet of land transferred by Bachi Ram, Mohan Chandra, Leela Devi and Bhagwati Devi was found to be in violation of rules. The court ordered the land to be vested in the state government from the date of transfer itself.
In Ramnagar tehsil’s Dhela settlement area, land measuring 0.100 hectares allotted to Bag Singh for agriculture was found to be used for operating a resort. The resort was sealed and subsequently the entire land was vested in the state government.
A further case involved Kumaon Paper Packs Private Limited and associated individuals, where land purchased for residential purposes was being used for resort operations. The court ordered 3,572 square metres of land to be vested in the state government due to violation of land use change conditions.
Another case from village Sultan in the Kainchi Dham area concerned land purchased by Bhanvi Singh for horticulture. On inspection, 27 pear trees and their access route were preserved, with 0.0344 hectares retained in his favour, while the remaining 0.5206 hectares were vested in the state government. It however remains to be seen if such action continues to be taken and whether the administration is able to take such strict action against powerful and influential violators who are running resorts and other commercial enterprises in Nainital district on agriculture or residential land.
