Government will deal strictly with miscreants, leaders will also come under the ambit
Dehradun. The law is now going to tighten its grip on those who damage public or private property during strikes, bandhs, riots and protests in the state. Those who do so will be charged compensation for loss of property. Not only this, in case of someone’s death, not only will legal provisions be imposed, arrangements are also being made to give compensation.
Uttarakhand government is going to work on the lines of UP. Just as in Uttar Pradesh, every penny is taken to account from those who riot and damage property, in the same way the Uttarakhand government will also tighten the noose on the rioters. For this, the government has brought a new bill, which has been introduced in the House.
The state government has brought the Uttarakhand Public and Private Property Damage Recovery Bill in the Assembly, which will be given the form of law after passing it in the House. By doing this, Uttarakhand will join the few states in the country where such a law is in force.
After the Banbhulpura incident in Haldwani, the state government is preparing to tighten the noose on those who attack public and private property during disturbances and strikes. It has been observed that during strikes, bandhs or protests, protesters target public properties and private properties are also damaged.
There is currently no concrete system in the state to compensate for this. The Defacement of Public Property Act exists to prevent defacement, damage or disruption of government property in the state. Although in this Act the accused is given time to repair the property. In case of not doing so, a committee constituted under the chairmanship of the District Magistrate decides the fee.
The state government is now ensuring arrangements for recovery of damage to public property as well as private property. Uttar Pradesh and Haryana already have laws in place for recovery from damage caused to public or private property.
In Uttarakhand also, the outline of the bill has been drawn only after studying them. According to this, to recover the loss, the concerned department and the private person will have to file a claim within three months. This claim can be made in various claim tribunals headed by a retired district judge. Once charges are framed, the person concerned will have to deposit compensation within a month.
Provisions are also being made for punishment for not doing so. This includes property as well as personal damage. In this, along with death, there will be a provision for compensation keeping in the scope of disability loss of eyesight, hearing power, disfigurement of body part, disfigurement of head or face etc. It is also being made clear in this proposed bill that the loss will not be compensated only from those persons who indulge in violence or vandalism. This will also be compensated by those who lead or organize the protests.
