Charred remains of vehicles lie by the side of a road following incidents of violence after the demolition of an ‘illegally built’ madrasa, in Haldwani. (PTI photo)
Although Uttarakhand has generally remained a peaceful state, government sources indicate that the need for legislation arose after the recent riots in Haldwani
The Uttarakhand government is all set to introduce the ‘Uttarakhand Public and Private Property Damage Recovery Bill’ during the budget session commencing on Monday. Although Uttarakhand has generally remained a peaceful state, government sources indicate that the need for legislation arose after the recent riots in Haldwani.
Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami has reaffirmed the government’s commitment to recovering damages amounting to crores from the individuals accused of rioting in the Haldwani incident.
Government sources said that the proposed bill will grant the right to recover damages to both government and private properties caused by incidents such as protests or riots. Once the bill passes the House, it will be forwarded for the governor’s assent, subsequently becoming an act upon approval.
A tribunal, led by a retired judge, will examine charges following the formal complaint registration. The tribunal will issue a recovery order after assessing losses and hearing from the involved parties. The order of the tribunal will be binding, according to home department sources.
It is learnt that the Haryana government introduced a similar law in 2021, and the Yogi Adityanath government in Uttar Pradesh first introduced the act in 2020. Uttarakhand will become the third state to enact such legislation.
Nonetheless, the BJP government, led by Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami, passed the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) in the state assembly last month. With this, Uttarakhand became the first state in the country to pass the UCC bill in the assembly.
