A signage declaring a meadow nestling Benital lake as a 'private property' in Chamoli district of Uttarakhand has sparked a debate over land ownership and triggered a probe into the matter.
Benital, with a rich forest cover, was once a private estate owned by a British resident. In 1945, the land was sold to Prem Nath Sarin. As per the Zamindari Abolition Act, which came into effect on 01 January 1978, forest land in specific areas were to be handed over to the state. The compensation to be offered was to be commensurate with the annual income derived from the forest.
The Sarin family filed a case in the Allahabad court pointing out that they have never used the forest for commercial purposes, and so, they do not derive an annual income from it. However, since the land belongs to them, they are to be compensated for the land before transferring it to the forest department. The Allahabad High Court dismissed this petition in 1997. However, in 2011, the Supreme Court stated that the petitioners are eligible for compensation.
At present, the original estate is now divided into two parts following the Supreme Court judgement of 2011 -- 697 hectares is with the Central Government, while the Sarin family has ownership of about 23.3 hectares, which includes the lake (2 ha). In an interview with the Times of India, Ashutosh Singh, divisional forest officer (Badrinath Forest Division) explained the reason that the land has not yet been declared a Reserve Forest. He explained, "The Revenue Department has to transfer the land to the Forest Department which has not yet been done."
Birendra Singht Mangwal, an activist who has been following the issue, clarified that while the lake and its surroundings form part of a grassland, they cannot be considered a bugyal (meadow) as bugyals are necessarily above the tree-line. Meadows or bugyals in Uttarakhand have legal protection.
However, the recent movement in Uttarakhand seeking to deny land ownership to ‘outsiders’ has further fuelled the conflict over the land with demands for a probe into “the encroachment by land mafia”. However, the district magistrate of Chamoli, Swati Bhadouria told the Times of India that no complaint of encroachment has been received by the district administration. She added, "If anyone is found encroaching upon government land, they will face legal action."
Environmentalist Manoj Dhyani, filmed the entire lake and its surroundings, which became viral. He also contended that the lake has completely dried up.
A local NGO, the Ratneshwar Jan Kalyan Samiti, filed a case with the National Green Tribunal requesting an enquiry into the encroachment and attesting that the lake has been deliberately drained. The report of the joint committee investigating the matter clarified that the extent of the lake has shrunk by 0.11 ha from its original extent of 2 ha, and that the surface is covered with an aquatic grass. They also reported "no evidence of any deliberate draining" was found.
While Sarin claims that the land belongs to him and it is a private property, locals say that the pristine land is presently "encroached upon" by an individual from outside the state and it should be handed back to the Forest Department. The locals have been advocating for the development of the area as a tourist destination by the state government and revival of the Benital lake.
As the conversation rages on, the lake is subject to both excessive open grazing as evidenced by the lack of shrubs and saplings and to littering by tourists as observed by the joint inspection committee.
Demand/Contention of the Affected Community
Opposition against environmental degradation
Complaint against procedural violations
Other Demand/Contention of the Affected Community
Region Classification
Rural
Type of Land
Common and Private
Non-Forest (Other than Grazing Land)
What was the action taken by the police?
How many people did the police detain or arrest?
What is the current status of the detained/accused persons?
Did the person face any violence while in police custody?
If any arrests took place, were the accused persons produced before a judge within 24 hours of the arrest?
If the accused was not produced before a magistrate within 24 hours, or not produced at all, what were the reasons?
Legislation under which the accused was charged
Was the accused person informed of their right to legal representation? Did the accused person have access to legal aid?
In cases where the accused person approached the court for bail, was bail granted?
Why was bail granted or rejected? If granted, what were the bail conditions and quantum of bail?
Details of sources (names of accused, names and numbers of any lawyers, names of any police officers contacted)
Status of Project
Original Project Deadline
Whether the Project has been Delayed
Significance of Land to Land Owners/Users
Water bodies, Religious/Sacred/Cultural value
Whether the project was stalled due to land conflict
Source/Reference
Total investment involved (in Crores):
₹
Type of investment:
Year of Estimation
Has the Conflict Ended?
No
When did it end?
Why did the conflict end?
Categories of Legislations Involved in the Conflict
Legislations/Policies Involved
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Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.
Whether claims/objections were made as per procedure in the relevant statute
No
What was the claim(s)/objection(s) raised by the community?
What was the Decision of the Concerned Government Department?
Legal Processes and Loopholes Enabling the Conflict:
Non-implementation of land reform laws
Violation of environmental laws
Non-payment of compensation/promised compensation
Legal Status:
In Court
Status of Case In Court
Pending
Whether any adjudicatory body was approached
Name of the adjudicatory body
Name(s) of the Court(s)
Supreme Court, National Green Tribunal
Case Number
Civil Appeal no. 4772 of 1998 (Supreme Court), Original Application No. 54/2023 (NGT)
Main Reasoning/Decision of court
Major Human Rights Violations Related to the Conflict:
Whether criminal law was used against protestors:
Reported Details of the Violation:
Date of Violation
Location of Violation
Government Departments Involved in the Conflict:
Principal Chief Conservator of Forest (HoFF), Government of Uttarakhand and the District Magistrate, Chamoli
PSUs Involved in the Conflict:
Did LCW Approach Government Authorities for Comments?
No
Name, Designation and Comment of the Government Authorities Approached
Corporate Parties Involved in the Conflict:
Did LCW Approach Corporate Parties for Comments?
No
Communities/Local Organisations in the Conflict:
Benital Jan Sangharsh Samiti, Shahid Smirti Vikas Samiti
What was the action taken by the police?
How many people did the police detain or arrest?
What is the current status of the detained/accused persons?
Did the person face any violence while in police custody?
If any arrests took place, were the accused persons produced before a judge within 24 hours of the arrest?
If the accused was not produced before a magistrate within 24 hours, or not produced at all, what were the reasons?
Legislation under which the accused was charged
Was the accused person informed of their right to legal representation? Did the accused person have access to legal aid?
In cases where the accused person approached the court for bail, was bail granted?
Why was bail granted or rejected? If granted, what were the bail conditions and quantum of bail?
Were there any other notable irregularities that took place, or other significant details?
Chicu is an independent consultant working on water conflicts with a focus on stakeholder negotiations. Since 2008, she has worked on the assessment of environmental flows for several major rivers and studied natural resource-related negotiations conflicts in the Gangetic basin and North-Eastern India. She lives and works in the Uttarakhand Himalaya.
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