The Uttarakhand government recently introduced an important amendment to the state land laws, aiming to regulate property purchases by non-residents. On Thursday, the state tabled the Uttarakhand (Uttar Pradesh Zamindari Abolition and Land Reforms Act, 1950) (Amendment) Bill, 2025. This amendment seeks to reverse key provisions from 2018 that had previously relaxed land purchase restrictions for outsiders.
The government repealed the land law enacted during former CM Trivendra Singh Rawat’s tenure to bring about new and stricter regulations, in view of persistent demands from varied social and political groups across the state.
Agricultural and horticultural land purchases by outsiders have been entirely banned in 11 districts, except for Haridwar and Udham Singh Nagar.
For the first time in a decade, district magistrates will no longer have the authority to approve land purchases personally. Instead, all transactions will be processed through a government portal. The objective will be to track land acquisitions by non-residents.
Additionally, residential land purchases by non-residents will now require an affidavit declaring that neither the buyer nor their family has acquired more than 250 square meters of land elsewhere in Uttarakhand. Along with this, instances of unauthorised sales or failure to use land as per approved regulations may be penalised.
In order to prevent rampant land speculation and price inflation, measures to regulate land prices and protect the interests of Uttarakhand’s original residents have also been announced.
