The language of the Chief Minister, in a multi-cultural and sensitive state caters to communal polarisation endangering the social fabric and peace of the state. This has intensified the fear of violence and insecurity among landless, poor and minorities.
The BJP government is continuously bulldozing and destroying homes, shops, and decades-long settlements without following proper legal procedures. The Government is displacing people in the name of legal compliance, but the poor and marginalized sections remain the most affected by this. The question of ownership rights of inhabitants on the Nazul and forest land in the hill state is quite sensitive. The people in several places residing for decades were displaced with the allegation of "encroachers". Options of alternative rehabilitation, sufficient time for notice, and opportunities for hearing were not provided. The constitutional right of equality and the principles of natural justice are being violated outright. The bulldozing and displacements without following proper legal process and norms, has caused anxiety and fear among the affected population.
On 7 December 2025, more than 52 homes were demolished without rehabilitation in Puchhadi of Ramnagar, among whom the most affected were poor, Dalits, and people from minorities. In Bagjala, eight houses under construction were demolished two years ago, and eviction notices for thousands were issued; all development and construction works were stopped including the Jal Jeevan Mission scheme by the authorities.
After the bulldozing of the residences of the poor in Puchhadi in Ramnagar of Nainital district, the district's SSP Manjunath T.C. blamed demographic change as one of the reasons for the demolition in a video statement. The statement in itself was astonishingly irresponsible, anti-constitutional, and communal. The agenda of the BJP-RSS for correction in demography is being carried out by an SSP who is expected to be accountable to the Constitution. During the Bagjala village movement near Haldwani, when a delegation went to the Kumaon Commissioner, he too mentioned demographic change. Bureaucracy is implementing CM Dhami’s drive of displacing the poor in the name of " Demographic corrections"!
The state of Uttarakhand has around 225 forest villages and many other types of traditional forest dwellings. These forest villages and settlements have been populated since 1950-60 or much earlier. There has been a continuous people’s movement with the demand for a revenue village for the past five decades in Bindukhatta in the Tarai region. The BJP during the election promised for the same, later the CM' declared the formation of revenue village only to retreat from his own promise. Now, the residents of Bindukhatta are gearing up for the bigger struggle.
The residents of Bagjala are protesting under the leadership of Kisan Mahasabha. After 100 days of the protest sit-in, the work on road construction has been resumed. Because of the movement, all the notices are on hold, but there is a constant threat of losing one's own land and homes and subsequent eviction. Thousands of people in Rishikesh are under a similar threat of displacement. Thousands of people are living under fear of displacement in Banbhoolpura locality in Haldwani town. The matter of Banbhoolpura is in the High Court. In Lalkuan, the Nagina colony was completely demolished, and poor households in Rudrapur town are constantly facing bulldozers. From Haridwar to Dewal, Ramnagar to Chorgaliya, and Haldwani to Dehradun, the poor and marginalized sections’ housing and agriculture is under a constant threat.
Lakhs of people, mostly in urban areas, have been residing in Nazul Lands (lands leased for long periods) since the British period. It is high time for the people to unite and launch an effective movement to force the government to provide documents to the actual owners who are residing on these lands. The BJP government is more interested in giving the same lands to its corporate friends. Various Development schemes, construction of big dams, have already led to the loss of land for agriculture and housing in the state along with a huge destruction of the ecology. There is an urgent need to reclaim rights for the landless, Dalits, and marginalized from the fascist bulldozer raj.
