Uttarakhand HC Strikes Down Land Ceiling Law PTI | NAINITAL | SEP 23, 2011 PRINT SHARE COMMENTS

The Uttarakhand High Court today struck down the much-contentious land reforms in the state under which outsiders were prohibited to buy more than 250 sq m of agriculture land.

A division bench of Chief Justice Barin Ghosh and Justice U C Dhyani said all the citizens of the country would now be able to purchase up to 12.5 acres of agriculture land in the state under the Land Ceiling Act.

"Following this judgement any person who is a citizen of India can purchase 12.5 acres of agricultural land in Uttarakhand which is also the permissible limit under the Land Ceilings Act," said V K Kohli, counsel of petitioner Jaswant Singh.

Singh had contended that the existing land laws were discriminatory against the residents of Uttarakhand as any person who was not possessing any agriculture land before the Act came into being in 2003 was not eligible to buy more than 250 sq meters of land.

Ever since the new land reforms came in Uttarakhand, the move had put a spanner on the realty business in the state.

Uttarakhand frets on land purchase restrictions Shishir Prashant / New Delhi/ Dehradun October 18, 2011, 0:30 IST Ads by Google 7 Star Flat in Trivandrum : Kerala's Most Luxurious Flats. 2Cr. Super Luxury Flats in Trivandrum. www.biginfra.com/Luxury-Apartments After losing a legal battle at the High Court, the Uttarakhand government is taking a cautious approach towards its future plans over the issue of putting restrictions on buying more than 250 square meters of land even as Chief Minister B C Khanduri wants to challenge the court order in the Supreme Court.

The High Court last month had struck down provisions of the much contentious land reforms in the hill state under which there were certain restrictions on buying more than 250 sq meter of land. Realty players had initially seen the court order as a relief. However, the move has so far failed to give desired boost to the realty sector, experts said.

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A division bench of the High Court comprising Chief Justice Barin Ghosh and Justice U C Dhyani had ruled that all the citizens of the country would now be able to purchase land in the state as per the provisions of the land ceiling act and termed the restrictions as unconstitutional and discriminatory in nature. The court took cognisance of the fact that the government was giving permissions for constructing hotels, industries and resorts in the state on agriculture land but stopping the common people from buying land.

Jaswant Singh, the petitioner, had contended that the existing land laws were discriminatory as any person, who did not have any agriculture land before the first Act came into being in 2003, was not eligible to buy the desired piece of land.

In 2003, the Congress government framed a law where the governments permission was necessary for purchase of more than 500 square meters of land. However, Chief Minister B C Khanduri in 2007 further toughened this law with a ceiling of 250 square meters only.

When contacted, top officials said though the chief minister wants to challenge the High Court order in the Supreme Court, the move is also afoot to amend the existing laws or make a new land act. We have kept both the options open, said the official.

On the other hand, a BJP leader said the government must not take any decision in haste and leave it to the new government which will be formed after the Assembly elections early next year.

Uttarakhand frets on land purchase restrictions Shishir Prashant / New Delhi/ Dehradun October 18, 2011, 0:30 IST Ads by Google 7 Star Flat in Trivandrum : Kerala's Most Luxurious Flats. 2Cr. Super Luxury Flats in Trivandrum. www.biginfra.com/Luxury-Apartments After losing a legal battle at the High Court, the Uttarakhand government is taking a cautious approach towards its future plans over the issue of putting restrictions on buying more than 250 square meters of land even as Chief Minister B C Khanduri wants to challenge the court order in the Supreme Court.

The High Court last month had struck down provisions of the much contentious land reforms in the hill state under which there were certain restrictions on buying more than 250 sq meter of land. Realty players had initially seen the court order as a relief. However, the move has so far failed to give desired boost to the realty sector, experts said.

Click here to visit SME Buzz

Also Read

Related Stories News Now Uttarakhand prepares new industrial policy Khanduri wants centre to extend package till '17 Khanduri to demand resources from centre Q&A: B C Khanduri, General of Uttarakhand Uncertainty looms over seminar of Himalayan states Uttarakhand to build housing colony in IT park

A division bench of the High Court comprising Chief Justice Barin Ghosh and Justice U C Dhyani had ruled that all the citizens of the country would now be able to purchase land in the state as per the provisions of the land ceiling act and termed the restrictions as unconstitutional and discriminatory in nature. The court took cognisance of the fact that the government was giving permissions for constructing hotels, industries and resorts in the state on agriculture land but stopping the common people from buying land.

Jaswant Singh, the petitioner, had contended that the existing land laws were discriminatory as any person, who did not have any agriculture land before the first Act came into being in 2003, was not eligible to buy the desired piece of land.

In 2003, the Congress government framed a law where the governments permission was necessary for purchase of more than 500 square meters of land. However, Chief Minister B C Khanduri in 2007 further toughened this law with a ceiling of 250 square meters only.

When contacted, top officials said though the chief minister wants to challenge the High Court order in the Supreme Court, the move is also afoot to amend the existing laws or make a new land act. We have kept both the options open, said the official.

On the other hand, a BJP leader said the government must not take any decision in haste and leave it to the new government which will be formed after the Assembly elections early next year.

Supreme Court stays Uttarakhand High Court orders on buying land Jagdish Bhatt | October 21, 2011 | Comments | | Print

Dehra Dun : The Supreme Court has stayed the orders of the Uttarakhand High Court which had cancelled the ceiling imposed by the state government on the amount of agricultural land that could be bought in Uttarakhand. The decision was given on a writ petition filed by the state government.

Challenging the orders of the Uttarakhand High Court in the apex court, the state government had contended that of the total geographical area of this tiny mountain state, just 12 per cent of it was agricultural land.

The ceiling on the amount of agricultural land that could be bought had been imposed by the state government to prevent misuse of this land for other purposes.

The state government had also contended that Uttarakhand shares its borders with China and there were fears that agricultural land bought in the sensitive zone could be misused for purposes that could put the very defence of the country into jeopardy.

It contended that the Uttarakhand High Court had not taken these aspects into consideration while holding illegal the ceiling that the state government had imposed on the purchase of agricultural land, adding that amendments had been made in the Act to accommodate builders, professionals and industrialists.