Farmers, colonisers elated as High Court stays land pooling policy

The stay orders by the Punjab and Haryana High Court on the land pooling policy have come as a major respite to all — farmers, landlords, colonisers and developers. All eyes were on the hearing of the case in the High Court as the writ was filed by a landlord-cum-advocate, Gurdeep Singh Phagla. Not only persons who were affected due to the policy but also many politicians have welcomed the decision of the court by terming the policy as a bid to loot and rob land of the farmers.

Phagla said the stay orders would be there till the next date of hearing in the second week of September. “Till then, the state has to file replies on many issues,” he said.

Commenting on the matter, former minister and senior Congress leader Bharat Bhushan Ashu said the stay by the Punjab and Haryana High Court on the land pooling policy was a slap on the face of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government and a stern warning that it could not rob people’s land.

“It will be best for AAP to withdraw the policy with due apologies to the land owners and farmers whose land it is trying to rob and loot,” said Ashu.

Senior SAD leader and coloniser Manpreet Singh Ayali said farmers, colonisers and even officials had crossed fingers as the hearing was going on in the High Court. “In heart of hearts, everyone realised that it was not justified on part of the state government to put pressure on all to give land. But thankfully neither the farmers and landlords nor the colonisers and builders succumbed to the pressure and thank court for the stay orders, which had brought a huge relief.

After facing stiff resistance from farmers over the land pooling policy, the AAP government had now begun summoning colonisers, builders and industrialists to surrender land acquired in villages. These chunks of land — initially purchased from farmers for future development — have now come under the “radar” as the state pushes forward its development agenda.

A prominent coloniser, on the condition of anonymity, said he was recently “summoned” by Ludhiana officials and asked to surrender his land.

“But I will not succumb to any pressure,” he said, citing stagnation in Ludhiana’s real estate market. “Leading colonisers have been developing townships for over two decades. Yet, around 50 per cent of these remain vacant due to lack of buyers. It took nearly 20 years for Janpath Estates to reach its current stage, and still, half of it lies empty. Townships like Rajgarh Estate, Ananta, Sunview and IREO are also struggling to attract buyers. If nearly 600 acres out of 1,200 acres remain unsold, how will the government manage thousands of acres under the policy?”, he said.

Ayali echoed similar concerns, stating that developing a 100-acre township costs close to Rs 300 crore. “From where will the government get such funds to develop massive chunks of land under the policy?” he asked, warning that colonisers were under pressure to either comply or face consequences.

Among the major colonisers whose land came under the policy are Futurama (300 acres), Homelife (50 acres), Eastman (50 acres), Ayali Developers in Birmi village (70 acres), Golden Square at Dakha village (13 acres) and KB Developers (25 acres).