Land Pooling policy anti-farmer, anti-Punjab, say KMSC leaders

Leader of the Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee (Punjab) Sarwan Singh Pandher and district president Ranjit Singh Kaler Bala strongly condemned the Centre and the Punjab Government for what they termed as coordinated anti-farmer, pro-corporate actions here today. They accused both the BJP-led Central Government and the AAP-led Punjab Government of working under the influence of the RSS-Nagpur and pushing forward exploitative policies.

Pandher said just as divisive politics is being used to win elections nationally, similar strategies are being adopted in Punjab. He said Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann is trying to engineer a political divide between farmers, labourers, and urban traders to win the Ludhiana elections. The leaders claimed that the government is aggressively promoting the Land Pooling policy for the proposed Ludhiana Urban Estate project, which seeks to acquire 24,311 acres of agricultural land.

They claimed that the government is misleading the public by projecting inflated land return values, such as residential plots worth Rs 30,000 per square yard and commercial plots at Rs 60,000 per square yard, while in reality, farmers will suffer huge losses. “The average landholding per acre is 4,800 square yards. Even if 1,200 square yards are returned, the government grabs 3,600 square yards, resulting in a loot worth Rs 16-20 crore per acre,” Pandher said.

He demanded policies that support sustainable agriculture rather than turning fertile land into concrete jungles. Referring to CM Mann’s public challenge for debate, Pandher said, “We accept the challenge. If the CM shows up, we will ask tough questions.”

The leaders also raised concerns about the Bharatmala Project, alleging that land was taken without proper compensation and promises like concluding the process within four months were not kept. Citing specific examples, they pointed to discrepancies in compensation. For example, a farmer in Manawala (Amritsar) received Rs 2.4 crore per acre in 2025 for the land valued at Rs 5 crore in 2014 despite the market rate of Rs 19 crore.