The Rajasthan Cabinet led by Chief Minister Bhajan Lal Sharma on Wednesday approved Disturbed Areas Bill, 2026, which aims to protect the properties of permanent residents and the rights of tenants in areas declared as disturbed.
The bill is officially called The Rajasthan Prohibition of Transfer of Immovable Property and Provision for Protection of Tenants from Eviction from Premises in Disturbed Areas Bill, 2026.
Parliamentary affairs minister Jogaram Patel said the proposed bill aims to prevent distress sale of properties and "protect tenants' rights" while also helping preserve communal harmony and the social fabric of the state.
The minister said population imbalance and communal unrest often disturb public order and peaceful coexistence, forcing permanent residents in affected areas to sell their properties at distress prices.
"Wherever one community begins to dominate or there is communal tension or demographic changes which lead to nuisance being created in a particular area, it can be declared a disturbed area," the state minister said.
Speaking to reporters at the cabinet briefing the minister said it was noted in many cases that due to demographic imbalances people were forced to sell their ancestral homes and move out of their locality or in many cases they could not get a place on rent or were evicted or forced to leave even rental homes due to changing demographics and this is what prompted the government to come up with this bill.
"In many areas of our state, the widespread impact of increasing population of a particular community, demographic imbalance, communal tension, lack of public harmony has been seen for quite some time," the minister said.
Under the proposed law, once an area is declared disturbed, any transfer of immovable property without prior permission of the competent authority will be treated as invalid and void.
Property transfers will be allowed only after due approval. Violation of the provisions will be a cognisable and non-bailable offence, punishable with imprisonment ranging from three to five years along with a fine.
Modelled after existing Gujarat legislation, this bill, to be introduced in the upcoming session, would make Rajasthan the second state in India to enact a law specifically addressing demographic balancing.
The Rajasthan Congress alleged that the proposed law was unconstitutional and driven by a political agenda rather than concern for law and order.
Addressing a press conference, state Congress chief Govind Singh Dotasra said the bill was based on what he termed a "Gujarat model" and claimed it was aimed at creating fear in an otherwise peaceful state.
"The language of this Bill itself is not constitutional. It is political language meant to divert attention from public issues and the government's failures," he alleged.
Dotasra questioned the need for a new law, saying existing legal provisions under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS)
and Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNNS) were sufficient to deal with law-and-order situations.
He also claimed that the bill violated fundamental rights, including the right to equality and the right to property, and went against the principles of natural justice.
