Safety Net For Udham Singh Nagar Farmers
The Union Cabinet yesterday approved a potentially confrontationist provision in the bill seeking to create the new state of Uttaranchal in Uttar Pradesh. The provision seeks to protect the large land holdings of farmers of Punjab origin in the prosperous district of Udham Singh Nagar.
The farmers, who were settled after partition in the then fallow land, have been seeking the district's exclusion from the proposed state. They want to remain in Uttar Pradesh since they apprehend that their pre-eminent status in the high revenue district would not be safe in the new dispensation.
A senior BJP leader expressed apprehension about the cabinet's approval to the provision which safeguards the interests of the farmers. He wondered how the large land holdings can be protected by law when the Land Ceiling Act will also be applicable in the new state.
Thanks to the efforts of the farmers over the years, Udham Singh Nagar district is now a fertile area, enjoying a premium in the real estate market. The hill leaders from the Uttaranchal region want land in the district to be re-distributed after implementing the Land Ceiling Act.
However, anticipating inclusion in the new state, several farmers have put up their farm houses and land for sale. These include Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal.
Union minister for parliamentary affairs M L Khurana yesterday said the Land Ceiling Act would be applicable in the new state, but parried questions on the apparent contradiction in the provision in the Uttar Pradesh Reorganisation Bill, 1998, approved by the cabinet. He said Hardwar district would be included in Vananchal.
The cabinet also approved the draft bills for Chhattisgarh and Vananchal, but deferred a bill granting statehood for Delhi due to differences between the Centre and the Delhi government on how much of present Delhi should be included in the new state.
With the cabinet approving the draft bills, the long constitutional process of creating the new states has been set in motion. However, official sources said it is unlikely to conclude before the assembly elections in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Delhi in November.
The bills are to be forwarded to President K R Narayanan for his approval as per constitutional requirement. He would then forward them to the respective states for endorsement.
Khurana said the cabinet also decided to set up a special cell in the Planning Commission to monitor and ensure the financial viability of Vananchal and the rest of Bihar. The Samata Party has demanded a massive economic package for the rest of Bihar since 90 per cent of present Bihar's revenue comes from the Vananchal region.