PIONEER EDGE NEWS SERVICE/ Bharadisain
The issue of the ownership rights for lakhs of people residing on forest and government lands for a considerable period of time was raised strongly by the members of the Congress party on the third day of the budget session of Uttarakhand Vidhan Sabha here on Wednesday. As soon as the proceedings of the day commenced, the leader of opposition (LoP) Yashpal Arya requested the speaker Ritu Khanduri to allow discussion on the important issue under rule 310 . She however ruled that the discussion will be held under rule 58.
Initiating the debate on the subject under rule 58, Arya said that large populations residing in many parts of the State are facing problems due to the notices served by the authorities. Giving examples of Bindukhatta and Bapugram in Rishikesh, he said many families have been residing in Bindukhatta for the last 200 years. Arya said that the Forest Rights Act of 2006 enacted by the Congress government clearly states that ownership rights should be given to those residing in the forest land for three generations or 75 years. The LoP said that the provisions of the act should be used to give ownership rights to residents of Bindukhatta and other areas. Arya said that Bindukhatta now has a population of 56,000 and has facilities such as roads, government schools and Anganwadi centres.
Chakrata MLA Pritam Singh, Bhuwan Kapdi, Tilak Raj Behed and other members of the Congress party participated in the discussion and demanded ownership rights to the people residing on forest and government land.
In his response, the Parliamentary Affairs minister Subodh Uniyal said that the State government is sensitive towards the issue. He said that the government has to work as per the procedures, rules and the directions of courts on the issue. Uniyal said that for residents of Bindukhatta, Gandhigram and other forest areas, the State government will soon come out with a policy. Uniyal added that in the cases of people residing on revenue land the State government has set up a cabinet subcommittee headed by him. He claimed that the government is working with sensitivity and the issue will be resolved.
