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Protests mark amendment to Land Reforms Act

Staff Correspondent

DEHRA DUN: The controversial land law -- amendment to the Uttar Pradesh Zamindari Abolition and Land Reforms Act -- was passed by a voice vote even as the Opposition Congress and Bahujan Samaj Party members thronged the Well of the Uttarakhand Assembly opposing what was described as a black law.

Later justifying the amendment, the Land Management and Revenue Minister, Dewakar Bhat of the Uttarakhand Kranti Dal said that regulation of sale and purchase of land in Dehra Dun and other major towns had become necessary as the land mafia was trying to buy land of the poor at throw away prices and selling the same at exorbitant rates.

It may be mentioned that the roaring land business in Dehra Dun and other major towns came to a near halt after the Bhuwan Chandra Khanduri Government introduced the Land Ordinance recently to regulate the sale and purchase of land. “This had checked the illegal sale of Government or other lands to innocent buyers by unscrupulous traders who even managed to get fake documents prepared through obliging officials and the move does need all the support from justice loving people”, said several senior residents who have been more than concerned over the conversion of riverbeds and nallahs into residential colonies over the past few decades. “The nallahs act as a natural draining system of the Doon valley and must be protected. Besides this, the people making houses there face the threat of flash floods every monsoons”, said Ravinder Singh, a social activist.

Congress MLA Dinesh Aggarwal felt that although regulation was required the same could have been done with proper consultation with all concerned. "The amendment will put a number of persons at disadvantage and discourage investment in the State".

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Protests mark amendment to Land Reforms Act

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