Uttarakhand Public and Private Property Damage Recovery Bill

• 26 Feb 2024

Why in News?

Uttarakhand is set to bring a Bill on the lines of recovery of damages to property bills brought by Uttar Pradesh and Haryana.

Key Points

• Under this legislation, losses to public and government properties incurred during protests and strikes will be recovered from the accused involved in the disturbance.
• A tribunal, headed by a retired judge, would investigate the charges against the identified accused, after the State’s complaint.
  • The assessment and orders for damage recovery would be issued by the tribunal after detailed discussions with the affected parties, both government and otherwise.
• The decision to have a Bill to recover damages to public property came after the violence in Haldwani in Uttarakhand.
• Violence ensued after the district administration and civic body demolished a mosque and madrasa built on nazool (government) land in an anti-encroachment drive.

Encroachment

• It is the unauthorised use or occupation of someone else’s property.
• This can occur on abandoned or unused spaces if the legal owner is not actively involved in its upkeep.
• It is important for property owners to be aware of the legal steps to take and their rights in such cases.
• This could include illegal construction, squatting, or any other form of occupation without proper permission or legal rights.
• Land encroachment, as defined by Section 441 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), 1860, is the act of unlawfully entering someone else’s property without permission to commit an offence, threaten possession of the property, or stay on the land uninvited.

Nazool land

• It is owned by the government but most often not directly administered as state property.
  • The state generally allots such land to any entity on lease for a fixed period, generally between 15 and 99 years.
• In case the lease term is expiring, one can approach the authority to renew the lease by submitting a written application to the Revenue Department of the local development authority.
  • The government is free to either renew the lease or cancel it — taking back Nazool land.
• The government generally uses Nazool land for public purposes like building schools, hospitals, Gram Panchayat buildings, etc.