Uttarakhand: No land use change required for resort construction on agricultural land

Dehradun, Dec 10 (PTI) To boost tourism in the state, the Uttarakhand cabinet on Wednesday approved a proposal to allow the use of agricultural land for resort construction without requiring a change in land use.

After a state cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami, officials said that, considering the potential for tourism development in the state, the use of agricultural land for resort construction, similar to eco-resorts, has now been approved without requiring a change in land use.

They said that, along with this, the standards for the width of access roads for resort construction have also been reduced. This standard has been set at six meters for hilly areas and nine meters for plain areas.

In another decision, the state cabinet approved the Uttarakhand Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Ordinance 2025, under which imprisonment for minor offences will be replaced with increased monetary penalties.

Following the guidelines of the central government, the cabinet also approved the proposal to provide additional floor area ratio (FAR) to encourage 'green building' standards in the construction of new buildings in the state and to rationalise the current building construction policy in the state.

The state cabinet also approved the proposal to determine the 2016 circle rate for one year based on the 2004 circle rate for the regularisation of land allotted to landless people and agricultural labourers displaced due to disasters or other reasons in Kalyanpur, Sitarganj tehsil of Udham Singh Nagar district. This will enable people to regularise their land and, upon receiving land ownership rights, they will be able to obtain loans, insurance, and other financial benefits.

The cabinet decided to grant exemption from GST and royalties payable on materials used in the projects for the proposed Rispana-Bindal elevated corridor to reduce the increasing traffic congestion in Dehradun city. The cabinet has also decided to provide a 50 per cent rebate on motor vehicle tax at the time of registration of new vehicles of the same category, in case of scrapping of BS-1 and BS-2 type transport and non-transport vehicles.

The cabinet also approved the implementation of the Chief Minister's Youth Future Building Scheme to provide free online coaching to students pursuing higher education in state universities and government and aided colleges for preparation for various competitive examinations. PTI DPT AMJ AMJ