Dehradun: The state government has taken a major decision regarding decriminalizing minor offenses under various departments, initiating civil penalties and administrative action for minor technical and procedural flaws in laws, and removing obsolete and unnecessary provisions from existing laws. Following guidelines issued by the Government of India, the Uttarakhand Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Ordinance, 2025 has been promulgated. This was approved by the Dhami cabinet on Wednesday.
The Planning Department has identified a total of 52 acts in the state where changes are to be made to the punishment provisions. In the first phase, changes have been made to seven laws across various departments. Under this, the jail sentences have been reduced in some laws, while in many laws, the jail sentence has been completely removed. However, the amount of fines has been significantly increased. This ordinance stipulates that the amount of the fine will be increased by 10 percent every three years.
The ordinance has been introduced to amend seven acts in the first phase to decriminalize and rationalize offenses, further promoting trust-based governance to make life and business easier. The Governor of Uttarakhand, exercising the powers conferred by Clause (1) of Article 213 of the Constitution of India, has promulgated the ordinance. This ordinance has now come into effect in the state of Uttarakhand. Therefore, this ordinance will not have any effect on any previous cases.
The Planning Department has identified 52 acts where the provisions for imprisonment are to be reduced or removed. In the first phase, 7 acts have been included in the Uttarakhand Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Ordinance. Other acts will be included based on discussions with other departments. The aim is to ensure that minor offenses are punishable by fines, not imprisonment. R. Meenakshi Sundaram, Principal Secretary, Planning Department
Changes made to these seven laws in the first phase:
- Under the Uttarakhand River Valley (Development and Management) Act, 2005, obstructing an authorized officer from entering any land or building, or harassing them upon entry, will now attract a fine of five thousand rupees. Providing false information to obtain a No Objection Certificate or polluting the river valley will result in a fine of 2,000 to 10,000 rupees for the first offense and 10,000 to 20,000 rupees for subsequent offenses.
- Section 13 of the Uttarakhand Flood Plain Zoning Act, 2012 will now attract a fine of up to five thousand rupees. If the offense continues after conviction, an additional fine of one thousand rupees per day will be imposed. For repeated offenses or serious environmental offenses, a fine of 20,000 rupees and two months imprisonment has been provisioned. In Section 10 of the Uttarakhand Plastic and Other Non-Biodegradable Waste (Regulation of Use and Disposal) Act, 2013, the period has been changed from three months to one month.
- In Section 5 of the Uttarakhand State Located Bodies Slum Improvement, Regularization, Rehabilitation, Resettlement, Encroachment and Prohibition Act, 2016, the period has been changed from 6 months to 3 months.
- Violation of the Uttarakhand Public Service (Reservation for Economically Weaker Sections) Act, 2019 will now attract a fine of up to 40,000 rupees. Earlier, the provision was three months imprisonment or a fine of 20,000 rupees.
- For violation of the Uttarakhand Organic Farming Act, 2019, the fine amount has been increased from 50,000 to five lakh rupees. Furthermore, failure to pay the fine will result in an additional payment of 1,000 rupees per day. • The Uttarakhand Fruit Nursery (Regulation) Act, 2019 stipulated a fine of ₹50,000 and a six-month imprisonment sentence for the first offense, with imprisonment in case of default in paying the fine. Now, the imprisonment has been removed, and the fine has been increased to between ₹1 lakh and ₹5 lakh. For the second or subsequent offenses, the provision was a fine of ₹50,000 and a six-month imprisonment sentence. Now, the imprisonment has been removed, and a direct fine of ₹10 lakh has been imposed.
Key points of the Uttarakhand Public Trust Ordinance:
- Imprisonment has been replaced with monetary penalties for minor/regulatory/incidental offenses. Where deterrence was needed, penalties have been increased or restructured to ensure proportionality.
- Automatic revision: To maintain deterrent value, all fines/penalties will be increased by 10 percent every three years.
- Emphasis on administrative/corrective action (i.e., mandatory product recall, affidavit of compliance).
- Imprisonment may still be imposed for serious or repeated offenses, but within strict limits.
