The Uttar Pradesh Nazul Property Bill, 2024, aims to regulate Nazul land, which is government-owned but not directly managed as state property by preventing its conversion into private ownership.
Amidst strong opposition not only by the INDIA bloc but also from Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) MLAs and allies, the state assembly on Wednesday cleared the Uttar Pradesh Nazul Properties (Management and Utilization for Public Purposes) Bill, 2024, according to a recent media report.
Nazul land is owned by the government, but it is not directly administered as state property. Typically, the state allots such land to any entity on lease for a fixed period, generally between 15 and 99 years. In case the lease term is expiring, you could approach the authority to renew the lease by submitting a written application to the revenue department of the local development authority. The government is free to either renew the lease or cancel it.
The Uttar Pradesh Nazul Property Bill, 2024, aims to regulate Nazul land government-owned but not directly managed as state property by preventing its conversion into private ownership. Under this Bill, court proceedings or applications for transferring Nazul land to private individuals or institutions will be cancelled and rejected, ensuring these lands remain under government control. If payments were made anticipating ownership changes, the Bill mandates refunds with interest calculated at the State Bank of India’s Marginal Cost of Funds Based Lending Rate (MCLR) from the deposit date.
Moreover, the Bill allows the government to extend leases for current leaseholders in good standing, who regularly pay rent and comply with lease terms. This ensures compliant leaseholders can continue using the land while maintaining it as government property. The Bill aims to streamline Nazul land management and prevent unauthorized privatization.
According to Suresh Kumar Khanna, State Parliamentary Affairs Minister, the land is needed for various developmental activities of public importance. He stated, “To make land available for use in development activities, the recourse is to acquire land that would incur a huge expenditure and enormous delay in the process.” Khanna explained that Uttar Pradesh has Nazul land leased to private individuals and entities under the Government Grants Act of 1895 and 1960. “The UP government has, from time to time, come out with a policy of declaring Nazul land freehold in the public interest,” he said.
Khanna further pointed out that earlier policies led to multifarious claims, draining land banks. “It is no longer in the interest of the UP government to continue with these policies and to permit conversion of Nazul land into freehold in view of the public interest,” he argued. He asserted, “If the state government re-enters its Nazul land, it will ensure that land is available to the government without acquiring land under the land acquisition laws.”
Following the repeal of the Government Grants Act of 1895 by Parliament, the UP government suspended all policies related to the management and disposal of Nazul land. Khanna said, “A large number of litigations are pending in courts seeking conversion of Nazul land into freehold, resulting in uncertainties in respect of the interest of the government.”
He concluded, “There is a need for legislation that would cater to the interest of the state government so that Nazul land can be reclaimed by the government for public use and development activities that were hampered for want of land.” However, despite the uproar, twists, and turns, the UP Assembly eventually passed the Nazul Properties Bill, “ensuring relief for the economically weaker section of the society.”