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Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami on Sunday held a grand roadshow celebrating the implementation of the Uniform Civil Code (UCC), Land Law, and the BJP's sweeping victory in civic elections.
Chief Minister Dhami expressed gratitude to the thousands who gathered in Kashipur, Udham Singh Nagar to celebrate and said it reflected the people's overwhelming support, trust, and affection. "This unparalleled faith and cooperation have further strengthened our resolve. Your support empowers us to take stronger steps towards building a developed Uttarakhand," said CM Dhami. The Uttarakhand Legislative Assembly passed the Uttarakhand (Uttar Pradesh Zamindari Abolition And Land Reforms Act, 1950) Amendment Bill, 2025, which will ban non-residents from buying agricultural and horticultural land in 11 of the state's 13 districts on February 21. The amendment covers land purchases outside municipal limits, and excludes Haridwar and Udham Singh Nagar districts. Another major change is that land bought for tourism, industry, and educational facilities will have a ceiling of 12.5 acres in the 11 districts. In the remaining two districts, permission can be sought to purchase more land. After passing the Land Law, CM Dhami at an event responded to public sentiments about the protection of Uttarakhand's resources and demographic balance at an event. "The people of Uttarakhand state have, from time to time, expressed their sentiments for a land law, and this demand has been raised on many platforms that the resources of Uttarakhand are being wasted and the outsiders are tampering with the demography here," he said. "This time the land law has been passed in the assembly. Our state government fulfilled all the promises, and similarly, this time, the 'Bhu Kanoon' was also introduced in the assembly session," Dhami stated. Uttarakhand became the first state to implement UCC. CM Dhami launched the UCC portal and rules on January 27, 2025, marking a significant milestone in the state's journey towards social justice and equality. The Uniform Civil Code seeks to establish a set of uniform, personal laws that apply to all citizens, regardless of religion, gender, or caste. This would cover aspects such as marriage, divorce, adoption, inheritance, and succession. The UCC applies to all residents of Uttarakhand, except Scheduled Tribes and protected authority-empowered persons and communities. This Act does not apply to the Scheduled Tribes (ST) notified under Article 342 and Article 366 (25) of the Constitution, and protected authority-empowered persons and communities under Part XXI have also been excluded from its purview. Uniform Civil Code Act, 2024 of Uttarakhand, provides a public welfare system promoting the protection of individual rights and social harmony to streamline and simplify the legal processes related to marriage. Under this, marriage can be solemnised only between those parties, none of whom has a living spouse, both of whom are mentally capable of giving legal permission, the man should have completed at least 21 years of age and the woman 18 years of age and they should not be in the ambit of prohibited relationships. The BJP swept the Uttarakhand civic body elections -- winning 10 out of 11 mayoral seats in the state. The Congress failed to open its account during the recently concluded polls -- with an Independent candidate securing the final post. The party also performed poorly in the municipal councils and finished third behind the BJP and Independents. The BJP secured 10 mayoral seats: Dehradun (Saurabh Thapliyal), Rishikesh (Shambhu Paswan), Kashipur (Dipak Bali), Haridwar (Kiran Jaisdal), Roorkee (Anita Devi), Kotdwar (Shailendra Rawat), Rudrapur (Vikas Sharma), Almora (Ajay Verma), Pithoragarh (Kalpana Devlal), and Haldwani (Gajraj Bisht). Independent candidate Arti Bhandari won the Srinagar mayoral seat in Pauri district. (ANI)
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