Section 118 will neither be abolished nor relaxed: Jai Ram

Chief minister Jai Ram Thakur on Monday clarified that the state government will not be relaxing or amending Section 118 of Himachal Pradesh Tenancy and Land Reforms Act, 1972.

The section provides restrictions on buying of agricultural land by non-agriculturists in the state. Only bona fide Himachalis with agricultural background can buy land in the state.

The statement was made in response to question raised by former chief minister and legislator from Arki, Virbhadra Singh, who demanded the state government to clear its stance on the issue.

The chief minister, in a written reply to question jointly asked by Nadaun legislator Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu and Jawalamukhi legislator Ramesh Chand Dhawala, stated that at least ?656.6 crores have been approved by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) for development of tourism in the state.

The project will be completed in two phases. In the first phase, as many as 19 sub-projects have been executed and completed. ADB and department of economic affairs (DEA), ministry of finance, have approved ?227.7 crores for the state. The loan agreement regarding this was signed on July 20, 2011.

In the second phase, at least ?428.9 crores will be spent, the loan agreement for which was signed in September, 2015. The project will be completed by June 2020. As many as 11 sub-projects are being executed which have been allotted to the contractors and work is in process, the minister informed.

Thakur also stated that the process of selection of panchayats to be taken up under this project is currently underway.

In another written reply to question asked by leader of opposition Mukesh Agnihotri, Thakur said that at least 30 schemes were introduced in 2018-19 budget and all of them have been implemented or are under implementation in the state.

Forest minister Govind Thakur informed the House that the land is being acquired for 63.1 km-long Bhanupalli-Bilaspur-Berri new broad gauge rail line.

“Land survey till Barmana in Bilaspur district has been conducted by Rail Vikas Nigam Limited and acquisition work in the initial 20 kilometres is almost complete,” the forest minister said while responding to question raised by Bilaspur legislator Subhash Thakur.

“A survey from Barmana to Leh is being conducted by railway authorities, for which land acquisition process is yet to be started,” he added. In a written reply to the question asked by Palampur legislator Ashish Butail, the minister said that the forest department is implementing ?700 crores integrated development project for source sustainability and climate-resilient rain fed- agriculture, which will be completed in 5 years.