Distress Over Bill

A bill to guard against distress sales during communal tumult—itself causes tumult

- Rohit Parihar

THE QUESTION IS LESS ABOUT the propriety of the law seen in isolation, but whether Rajasthan needed it at all. What is it about? A 'Disturbed Areas' bill the state government has introduced in the ongoing budget session of the assembly, opening fresh political and ideological fault lines. The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) pitches it as a safeguard against distress property sales during communal disturbances.

The Congress warns that the bill itself marks a deliberate attempt to communalise the state, since it's historically not known to be prone to religious polarisation.

No immediate catalyst was in sight when, on January 21, the Bhajan Lal Sharma cabinet cleared the draft of the Rajasthan Prohibition of Transfer of Immovable Property and Provision for Protection of Tenants from Eviction from Premises in Disturbed Areas Bill, 2026. The bill, tabled in the House on January 28, would empower the state to notify specific localities as "disturbed areas", making prior official permission mandatory for the transfer of immovable property in those zones. The objective, say cabinet ministers, is to prevent forced migration and distress sales in riot-hit localities.