Uttar Pradesh
Badshahpur, Haridwar, Uttarakhand
,
Himmatpur Bela
,
Bijnor
Published : 12 July, 2014   |   Last updated - 24 Jun, 2024
Farmers from Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand clash over 'territorial dispute'
Reported by
Saumya Srivastava
Legal Review by
Anmol Gupta
Updated by
Anupa Kujur
121
Households affected
715
People Affected
2000
Year started
202
Land area affected
121
Households affected
715
People Affected
2000
Year started
202
Land area affected
Key Insights
Sector
Land Use
Reason/Cause of conflict
Border Dispute
Conflict Status
Ongoing
Ended
Legal Status
Region Classification
Rural
Ended
1
Summary

In the latest conflict over decades-old 'territorial dispute' along Uttar Pradesh-Uttarakhand border, farmers from two villages clashed on March 4, 2023 over farm lands during a survey to demarcate the boundary of the two states.

The clash, which took place in Bijnor's Himmatpur Bela and Haridwar's Badshahpur villages, turned violent as the villagers fired several rounds and set ablaze a farm with standing sugarcane crop.

The conflict in March occurred over the rejection of a survey by the Uttar Pradesh government's team stating that about 200m of land in Bijnor was actually under Uttarakhand's possession. Bijnor SDM, Mohit Kumar, told The Times of India, "The entire territorial matter is about two neighbouring villages -- Himmatpur Bela and Badshahpur. Himmatpur Bela is in UP while Badshahpur is in Uttarakhand."

The root cause of the conflict lies in the lack of a proper demarcation of state boundaries that is agreed upon by both the states. In 2000, under the Uttar Pradesh Reorganisation Act of 2000, the state of Uttarakhand was carved out of the state of Uttar Pradesh. Since then, there have been several disputes over assets and liabilities of irrigation, transport, housing, forest, food & civil supplies and tourism departments.

It was alleged by the Uttarakhand government officials that Uttar Pradesh government had not handed over control of even 41 canals which flowed from and back into Uttarakhand. They cited the examples of Tehri Dam, Nanak Sagar Dam, Baigul Dam, Tumaria Dam (out of six dams located in Uttarakhand and controlled by Uttar Pradesh) and Haridwar’s Alaknanda Guest House (controlled by UP Tourism, and now being handed over to Uttarakhand).

Several governments since 2000 have attempted to resolve these issues. On some occasions, disputes related to irrigation, transport and sharing of employees and liabilities have reached the courts. While the case on sharing of employees has since been resolved, the other matters are pending. 

There has been no fresh developments since March. However, in February, Gopalram Binwal, SDM Laksar, told Amar Ujala, "Bijnor team and our team had conducted the survey. It is true that two hundred meters of land is left, but we have asked the Bijnor team to conduct the survey again from another border. So that the correct situation can be known. The second date will be fixed and the survey will be conducted again. Whatever comes forward, we will accept."

2
Fact Sheet

Demand/Contention of the Affected Community

Demand to retain/protect access to common land/resources

Other Demand/Contention of the Affected Community

Region Classification

Rural

Type of Land

Common

Non-Forest (Other than Grazing Land)

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

Agricultural land

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?

No

When did it end?

Why did the conflict end?

Author
Reported by
Saumya Srivastava

Uttar Pradesh

Kumar Sambhav is a social entrepreneur and award-winning journalist, leading innovative research in accountability investigations. He is the founder of Land Conflict Watch and is currently working as India Research Lead with Princeton University’s Digital Witness Lab.

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Fact sheet

Demand/Contention of the Affected Community

Demand to retain/protect access to common land/resources

Farmers from Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand clash over 'territorial dispute'

Reported by

Saumya Srivastava

Legal Review by

Anmol Gupta

Edited by

Anupa Sagar Kujur

Updated by

Updated by

Published on

December 21, 2023

March 4, 2024

Edited on

December 21, 2023

Sector

Land Use

Reason or Cause of Conflict

Border Dispute

Starting Year

2000

Land Area Affected (in Hectares)

202

ha

Households Affected by Conflict

121

People Affected by Conflict

715

State

Uttar Pradesh

Sector

Land Use

People Affected by Conflict

715

Households Affected by Conflict

121

Land Area Affected (in Hectares)

202

ha

Starting Year

2000

Location of Conflict

Himmatpur Bela

Badshahpur, Haridwar, Uttarakhand

Bijnor

Reason or Cause of Conflict

Border Dispute

Land Conflict Summary

In the latest conflict over decades-old 'territorial dispute' along Uttar Pradesh-Uttarakhand border, farmers from two villages clashed on March 4, 2023 over farm lands during a survey to demarcate the boundary of the two states.

The clash, which took place in Bijnor's Himmatpur Bela and Haridwar's Badshahpur villages, turned violent as the villagers fired several rounds and set ablaze a farm with standing sugarcane crop.

The conflict in March occurred over the rejection of a survey by the Uttar Pradesh government's team stating that about 200m of land in Bijnor was actually under Uttarakhand's possession. Bijnor SDM, Mohit Kumar, told The Times of India, "The entire territorial matter is about two neighbouring villages -- Himmatpur Bela and Badshahpur. Himmatpur Bela is in UP while Badshahpur is in Uttarakhand."

The root cause of the conflict lies in the lack of a proper demarcation of state boundaries that is agreed upon by both the states. In 2000, under the Uttar Pradesh Reorganisation Act of 2000, the state of Uttarakhand was carved out of the state of Uttar Pradesh. Since then, there have been several disputes over assets and liabilities of irrigation, transport, housing, forest, food & civil supplies and tourism departments.

It was alleged by the Uttarakhand government officials that Uttar Pradesh government had not handed over control of even 41 canals which flowed from and back into Uttarakhand. They cited the examples of Tehri Dam, Nanak Sagar Dam, Baigul Dam, Tumaria Dam (out of six dams located in Uttarakhand and controlled by Uttar Pradesh) and Haridwar’s Alaknanda Guest House (controlled by UP Tourism, and now being handed over to Uttarakhand).

Several governments since 2000 have attempted to resolve these issues. On some occasions, disputes related to irrigation, transport and sharing of employees and liabilities have reached the courts. While the case on sharing of employees has since been resolved, the other matters are pending. 

There has been no fresh developments since March. However, in February, Gopalram Binwal, SDM Laksar, told Amar Ujala, "Bijnor team and our team had conducted the survey. It is true that two hundred meters of land is left, but we have asked the Bijnor team to conduct the survey again from another border. So that the correct situation can be known. The second date will be fixed and the survey will be conducted again. Whatever comes forward, we will accept."

Fact Sheet

Demand/Contention of the Affected Community

Demand to retain/protect access to common land/resources

Other Demand/Contention of the Affected Community

Region Classification

Rural

Type of Land

Common

Type of Common Land

Non-Forest (Other than Grazing Land)

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?

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

Agricultural land

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?

No

When did it end?

Why did the conflict end?

Legal Data

Categories of Legislations Involved in the Conflict

Legislations/Policies Involved

Uttar Pradesh Reorganisation Act, 2000
Section 3 [State of Uttarakhand to be formed based on territories of certain districts.] Section 43 [If land or property is within the transferred territory as notified, it will belong to the state of Uttarakhand. If there is any dispute regarding distribution of land, then the Central Government must settle the dispute through mutual agreement of the two state governments.]
Uttar Pradesh Revenue Code, 2006
Section 24 [Sub-divisional Officer to have the power to conduct summary inquiry into any boundary dispute on the basis of existing survey maps.]
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    Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.

Whether claims/objections were made as per procedure in the relevant statute

No

What was the claim(s)/objection(s) raised by the community?

What was the Decision of the Concerned Government Department?

Legal Processes and Loopholes Enabling the Conflict:

Land record discrepancies

Legal Status:

Out of Court

Status of Case In Court

Whether any adjudicatory body was approached

No

Name of the adjudicatory body

Name(s) of the Court(s)

Case Number

Main Reasoning/Decision of court

Major Human Rights Violations Related to the Conflict:

No items found.

Reported Details of the Violation:

Date of Violation

Location of Violation

Additional Information

Government Departments Involved in the Conflict:

Sub Divisional Magistrate

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?

No

Communities/Local Organisations in the Conflict:

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?

Resources

Resources Related to Conflict

  • News Articles Related to the Conflict:
  • Documents Related to the Conflict:
  • Links Related to the Conflict:

Images

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Image Credit:  

Video

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