Land pooling policy: Attachment to land, lack of trust in govt assurances behind farmers’ opposition

A deep emotional bond with their land and lack of trust in government’s assurances are being cited as primary reasons behind farmers’ refusal to part with their agricultural land under the state’s land pooling policy.

Former SAD leader and coloniser Manpreet Singh Ayali, whose 150 acres of land in three villages, Birmi, Kialpur and Dakha, falls under the land pooling scheme, opposed the policy, stating: “The government may chop off my head but I will never part with my land.”

Ayali emphasised that land is not only a physical asset but also an identity for farmers.

“A farmer has an emotional attachment to his land and he won’t give it up under any kind of pressure, unless he voluntarily chooses to do so,” he said.

Sharing his experience as a coloniser, Ayali said when he acquires land from farmers, he compensates them generously — providing 8 to 10 times more land elsewhere, constructing homes for them, offering tractors and fulfilling other needs.

“It is not easy for any farmer to part with his land. And the government thinks it can get the same easily by promising Rs 50,000 per acre after a year? That’s not how it works. The price of an acre would not be less than Rs 30-40 lakh in prominent areas,” he remarked.

Simran Singh Dakha, a young landlord who has returned from Canada to pursue farming in his ancestral land, echoed similar concerns. “The Land Acquisition Act was designed to strip farmers of their rights. If I don’t sell, I’m restricted to farming only. If I give the land to the government, I lose it for at least eight years. Who knows what happens in the future? Land is everything for a farmer — why would he give it up for vague promises?” he questioned.

Jaswant Singh Issewal, a farmer owning 10 acres in Issewal village, also voiced strong opposition to the policy. “No farmer will yield land under pressure, no matter what. Small farmers will be destroyed. Women in our households are actively involved in dairy farming. If land is pooled, their livelihood is gone. Why should a farmer hand over his security to the government?” he said.

He said landowners should have right to decide how they want to use or sell their land. “It’s not government’s prerogative,” he said.

The sentiment resonates across villages affected by the policy, where distrust towards government’s long-term promises and emotional attachment to land remain firm hurdles in implementing the scheme.

Meanwhile, Deepak Bali, general secretary, AAP, Punjab, however, said if there was an emotional bond with the land, the government was not snatching away anyone’s land forcibly and they can use the same for agriculture basis but if they want to sell it for development then why not to their own chosen government? “We are chosen by the masses, we are among them, we stand by them and support them. They need to build trust, at least for once, and we will come up to their expectations,” he said.