Farmers from over 35 villages protest govt’s land pooling policy

Farmers from over 35 villages held a protest outside the Greater Ludhiana Area Development Authority (GLADA) office here on Monday to protest against the land pooling policy of the state government. The farmers alleged that the policy was being pushed by the government in collusion with corporate entities and land mafias.

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However, state president of the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and Cabinet Minister Aman Arora, while terming the allegation as false and baseless, said these protests were politically motivated.

“This is a land pooling scheme not a compulsory Land Acquisition Act. Not even a single inch of land will be acquired without the consent of the land owner. In fact, the farmers will get an opportunity to get developed sites against their undeveloped land, in case they agree to give their land,” Arora claimed.

Tarsem Jodhan, one of the farmer leaders, alleged that the land pooling scheme was driven by political and bureaucratic corruption, which aims to dispossess state farmers of their land, leave the youth unemployed and push them towards drugs and alter Punjab’s demography by settling outsiders.

“Most of the land of farmers is fertile, where they sow crops to fill the stomach of the nation. The land is the bread and butter of farmer, how can he give it to the government,” he argued while adding that families of over 40 villages will be badly affected under the new policy.

Manjeet Singh, a farmer from Jodha, said thousands of acres acquired by the Punjab Urban Development Authority (PUDA) and GLADA for colonies and other projects in various cities in the past still lie unused with the acquired fertile lands turning full of weeds and wild growth.

General secretary of the BKU (Lakhowal) Harwinder Lakhowal said: “Thousands of colonies have been developed in the state, half of which remain unoccupied and lack basic amenities. The government claims there are 14,000 unauthorised colonies, why are these being ignored?” he asked, adding that in case the government forcibly tried to take hold of the land, they would face strong retaliation.

The farmers, who gathered under the banner of ‘Kamm Bachao, Khet Bachao, Pind Bachao’ Action Committee, said the government had promised to provide 300 sq-yd plots in lieu of one acre of land, when would it start giving any benefit to the farmer is uncertain and till that time, what would he do?

Baldev Singh, another leader who came in support of the farmers’ cause from Rampura Phul, said: "Before coming up with the scheme, the farmers would have been consulted by the government."

“We have many queries regarding the completion of the project, like what if after the 2027 elections, other governments sabotage the project. Farmers’ are dependent on their huge chunk of land. The government cannot announce pooling like this,” he said.