Amid opposition by Congress, the Haryana Assembly Thursday passed a Bill that will allow authorities to recover damages to properties from protestors and rioters.
‘The Haryana Recovery of Damages to Property during Disturbance to Public Order Bill, 2021’, Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar said was “necessary to instil fear in the minds of those who damage property and this is our constitutional legal system”.
Former Congress Chief Minister and Leader of Opposition Bhupinder Singh Hooda, however, said the law “is going to strangle democracy”, The Indian Express reported.
The Bill provides for recovery of damages to properties caused by people during disturbance to public order by an assembly, lawful or unlawful, including riots and violent disorder.
It has also provision for setting up a Claims Tribunal to determine the liability, to assess the damages caused and to award compensation.
Uttar Pradesh was the first state to bring a Bill for recovery from the people for damages caused to public property during protests.
