Uttarakhand
,
Ramnagar
,
Nainital
Published :
Sep 2016
|
Updated :
24 Villages in Uttarakhand's Ramnagar Demand Revenue Village Status, Threaten Election Boycott
Reported by
Tarun Joshi
Legal Review by
Anmol Gupta
Edited by
Anupa Kujur
Households affected
18000
People affected
2008
Year started
Land area affected
Households affected
18000
People Affected
2008
Year started
Land area affected
Key Insights
Sector
Conservation and Forestry
Reason/Cause of conflict
Forest Administration (Other than Protected Areas)
Conflict Status
Ongoing
Ended
Legal Status
Region Classification
Rural
Ended
Sector
Conservation and Forestry
Reason/Cause of conflict
Forest Administration (Other than Protected Areas)
Conflict Status
Ongoing
Ended
Legal Status
Region Classification
Rural
Ended
1
Summary

The residents of Ramnagar village depended on the forests of Chorgalia, Dolly Range, Tunikhal, Jolasal, Khatima, Ramnagar and Tanakpur for grazing purposes as the land was easily accessible. Around 18,000 people from 24 villages, therefore, settled in the Ramnagar area in what later came to be known as "forest villages" or "van grams". Having lived in the forest villages since the colonial times, the people had started demanding a revenue village status for the 24 villages so that they could be granted land rights. According to the Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006, forest villages are settlements that have been established inside the forests by the forest department of any state government for forestry operations or that were converted into forest villages through the forest reservation process and includes forest settlement villages. As a forest village, people enjoy community rights over land carved out of a reserved forest, but the government may cancel such rights. Unlike a forest village, a revenue village is considered a small administrative unit with a definite surveyed boundary, and residents enjoy individual land ownership rights. The villagers in Ramnagar allege lack of infrastructure and facilities, such as roads, electricity and running water. Since they do not have the right to own agricultural land, they claim that they cannot build houses and apply for electricity or water connections in their name. They also cannot become beneficiaries of government schemes. A huge rally was organised in Haldwani in 2011 demanding the revenue village status, after which the then chief minister assured them that their demands would be fulfilled. But nothing happened. During the 2012 election, Amrita Rawat, Congress MLA from Ramnagar, promised the villagers that she would get all the forest villages in Ramnagar constituency the status of revenue villages under the Forest Rights Act, 2006. But she could not keep her word. In 2015, hundreds of villagers demonstrated asserting their demand. They warned that if concrete action was not taken within three months, they would boycott the Assembly election while continuing to agitate. They also sent a memorandum to the president and chief minister through the tehsildar. In 2017, forest officials reached Tumariya, one of the 24 villages, with a bulldozer to raze the houses as they were considered as "encroachments" on the land by the forest department. This happened while the forest rights claims of the villagers were still pending. In 2019, similarly, the villagers threatened to boycott the general election if their demands were not met. In September 2020, the Forest Development Committee sent a memorandum to Chief Minister Trivendra Rawat to convert the 24 forest villages into revenue villages. The committee claimed that people have been living in these villages since 1962. The claims are being processed.

2
Fact Sheet

Demand/Contention of the Affected Community

Demand for legal recognition of land rights

Demand to retain/protect access to common land/resources

Other Demand/Contention of the Affected Community

Region Classification

Rural

Type of Land

Common

Forest

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?

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

Whether the project was stalled due to land conflict

Source/Reference

Total investment involved (in Crores):

Type of investment:

Year of Estimation

Page Number In Investment Document:

Has the Conflict Ended?

When did it end?

Why did the conflict end?

4
Additional Information

Government Departments Involved in the Conflict:

Forest department

PSUs Involved in the Conflict:

Did LCW Approach Government Authorities for Comments?

Name, Designation and Comment of the Government Authorities Approached

Corporate Parties Involved in the Conflict:

Did LCW Approach Corporate Parties for Comments?

Communities/Local Organisations in the Conflict:

dev bhumi bayapar mandal,UKPP, पम्पापुरी लोक कल्याण समिति

5
Information on the use of criminal law

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?

Legal Supporting Documents

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Author
Reported by
Tarun Joshi
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Fact sheet

Demand/Contention of the Affected Community

Demand for legal recognition of land rights

Demand to retain/protect access to common land/resources

If any arrests took place, were the accused persons produced before a judge within 24 hours of the arrest?

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?

Status of Project

Original Project Deadline

Whether the Project has been Delayed

Significance of Land to Land Owners/Users

Whether the project was stalled due to land conflict

Source/Reference

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