Though the Uttarakhand Vidhan Sabha’s Budget Session has concluded, it has left behind questions on whether out legislators are serious about their duty. Political analysts believe it is the first time in Uttarakhand’s history that the House ended with a stand-off between the treasury benches and Opposition.
Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna accused the Opposition of creating a nuisance with bogus demands, asking why they did not approach the court.
To this, Opposition leader Ajay Bhatt pointed out that Hemant Dwivedi had been named in the Bhati Commission report, which was why the party did not approach court so far. He added, “Seeing the State Government’s intention, we may challenge the SIIDCUl land deal in court in coming days.”
Speaker Govind Singh Kunjwal, meanwhile, feels that the voice of people in the House (Opposition) has failed to raise public issues due to a predefined agenda. By obstructing proceedings, it has also shown disrespect towards the democratic system. “They did not participate in Question Hour either,” he pointed out. Zero Hour is traditionally considered a golden opportunity for the Opposition parties to corner the Government.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Indira Hridayesh told The Pioneer that the Opposition did not bother to maintain order in the House order, demanding a debate on the alleged Rs1,000-crore SIIDCUl land scam under Section 310 of the Vidhan Sabha manual, which can only be termed anarchic. They would have got an answer from the ruling party had they participated in the debate, according to her. They could also have demanded a CBI enquiry later.
Bhatt told The Pioneer, “We tried our best to protect our land, which is being sold by the State to the builders in SIIDCUl Haridwar and Pantnagar at a meagre price, because we can lure industry as long as we have land with us. Before the beginning of the session, the State Cabinet had modified land use clause.”
According to norms, the State allocates land for commercial purposes but user has to start construction within two years or the land is reverted to the State Government automatically.
The land holder is allowed to file a petition for change of land use. In this case, if the State or any of its departments fail to take a decision, then it will be deemed permitted. This also, in effect, gives the land user another two years for execution of the new project.
However, certain loopholes trigger corruption. For instance, if an individual or company files petition for change of land use on March 1 and later, manage to delay the petition till June 1 or the next 90 days by using wrong means, then it automatically gets considered as an approval. Although the Chief Minister has a clarification on this, in reality, it is bound to happen.
There are norms that an outsider can’t purchase more than 250 square metre here. If they purchase land for a hospital, educational institute, horticulture or agriculture purposes, they will have to seek prior permission from the District Magistrate, who forwards the petition to the State. To promote health and education, procedural ease is created by fixing a set time frame.
However, the Opposition has latched on to this as being amendments in the norms of land use and bludgeoned the Government with accusations. The ruling party’s theory may ring true, but its practice is often faulty.