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The Uttarakhand High Court has directed the Haridwar-Roorkee Development Authority (HRDA) to withdraw permissions granted for plotting and group housing developments on agricultural and orchard land in Haridwar district. The directive was issued by a division bench while hearing a public interest litigation alleging that the authority had allowed residential development on farmland despite earlier court restrictions. The court instructed HRDA to revoke the approvals within a week, warning that failure to comply would invite contempt proceedings. The case relates to a petition filed in 2023 that cited earlier High Court and Supreme Court rulings prohibiting such development in the state due to the limited availability of agricultural land. The High Court also noted that the state government had not sought modification of the earlier order after the Supreme Court declined to interfere with it in 2024.
The Uttarakhand High Court has directed the Haridwar-Roorkee Development Authority (HRDA) to withdraw permissions granted for plotting and group housing developments on agricultural and orchard land in Haridwar district, reinforcing earlier judicial restrictions on residential construction on farmland in the state. Advertisement
The order was issued earlier this week by a division bench comprising Chief Justice Manoj Kumar Gupta and Justice Subhash Upadhyay while hearing a public interest litigation that alleged the development authority had permitted residential plotting on agricultural land despite existing court directions prohibiting such activity. The bench directed HRDA to revoke the approvals within one week and cautioned that failure to comply could lead to contempt proceedings.
The litigation was filed in 2023 by Haridwar resident Atul Kumar Chauhan, who contended that the authority had allowed plotting and housing projects on farmland in violation of earlier judicial orders intended to protect the state's limited agricultural and orchard land. According to the petition, HRDA had relied on legal advice to justify granting such permissions after a board decision stating that plotting could be allowed on agricultural land.
The High Court noted that a similar issue had been addressed earlier in a June 2018 judgment that prohibited plotting and group housing projects on agricultural and orchard land in Uttarakhand due to concerns over shrinking farmland. The state government subsequently challenged the order before the Supreme Court. However, in April 2024, the apex court disposed of the appeal and declined to interfere with the High Court's decision, while granting the state liberty to approach the High Court if it wished to seek modification of the ruling.
During the hearing, the court observed that the state government had not filed any application seeking modification of the earlier order despite being granted the option by the Supreme Court. The petitioner argued that the absence of such a request meant the original restrictions on residential development on agricultural land remained fully applicable.
The court also referred to its earlier directions issued in September 2023 that required authorities to strictly enforce the prohibition on plotting and group housing on farmland. The petition submitted that despite those directions, permissions had continued to be granted, leading to conversion and loss of agricultural and orchard land in several parts of Haridwar district.
With the latest order, the High Court has required the development authority to revoke the permissions granted for such projects and ensure compliance with the judicial restrictions already in place. The bench emphasised that any continued approval of residential developments on agricultural land would amount to a violation of the court's orders and could attract legal consequences for the concerned officials.
The case highlights ongoing scrutiny of land-use conversion and residential development approvals in Uttarakhand, particularly in districts experiencing rapid urban expansion and pressure on agricultural land resources.
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