During the final day of the two-day special session of the State Assembly, marred by the absence of the Opposition, the State Government passed five Bills, including Uttarakhand hilly area cultivable land consolidation and land arrangement Bill-2016, on Friday. Undeterred by the Opposition staying away, Chief Minister Harish Rawat completed things contemplated for the session. The House passed the Bills ‘unanimously’.
The first Bill is meant to provide consolidation of agricultural holdings in the hill areas of Uttarakhand for the development of agriculture and development of agricultural produce and also for creating employment opportunities from this.
While presenting the Bill, CM said that the Bill was an imperative in view of the dwindling productivity of the agricultural lands in the hilly areas. The farmers are perforce migrating to the plains, leaving behind their agricultural lands, he said, adding that it is happening because of smallness of the lands held and the scattered way they are spread. “Due to this, the agricultural resources remain scarce and the farmers are not adopting security apparatus to secure their farms. In view of this, the demand of land consolidation in the hilly areas has been mounting,” he said.
He said that the previous government might have talked about the consolidation, but they could not have executed it on the ground because of technical problems involved. He assured the House that this is a noble cause. “I would try my best to implement it on the ground,” CM said.
“The bill would come handy to boost agriculture and horticulture. It will create employment opportunity as well. It is also proposed that the village which adopts consolidation will be added in other plans. With the implementation of things, the villages would be able to create necessary infrastructure for the agricultural and horticultural uplift. The state government would spend upto Rs one crore for the development of the village which adopts voluntary consolidation. I am happy that the bill has been passed in the House unanimously,” he said.
CM further said that while drafting the bill, he had come across the information that there are several types of land existing in the State. “With this consolidation, the State’s hill-based farmers would be able to adopt modern technology to increase productivity,” he said.
Besides placing the bills for the House’s approval, the CM used the time to tom-tom all his ‘achievements’ during the final day of the Vidhan Sabha. He said that the State has been promoting cultivation of wide leave tree, which are being used as fodder and also promoting cultivation of medicinal plants. State is also going to give bonus on water conservation, he assured. Uttarkhand would be the first state to adopt this, he said, adding that now even the Centre is talking about promoting water conservation as part of its national agenda, utilising the MNREGA fund in the process.