Akali Dal to hold camps for collecting affidavits against land pooling policy

The Shiromani Akal Dal has announced that it will organise camps in surrounding villages of Ludhiana to collect affidavits from the farmers against the land pooling policy of the state government. These affidavits will be submitted to the Greater Ludhiana Area Development Policy (GLADA) for expressing discontentment over the policy.

Yesterday, the Punjab Government in a Cabinet meeting chaired by the Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann had rolled out an amended land pooling policy across 27 urban centres in the state.

Former SAD, Ludhiana, president Ranjit Singh Dhillon, now SAD Lok Sabha in charge from Ludhiana, along with SAD leaders, namely Jaskaranjit Singh Deol and Gurcharan Singh Grewal, and others addressed a press conference regarding the matter here on Tuesday.

Dhillon while taking credit for the agitation launched by SAD against the land pooling policy said that due to the pressure of SAD, the state government was forced to announce that land could only be acquired after farmers agreed to it.

However, contrary to this, Cabinet minister Tarunpreet Singh Sondh had already claimed a few days back that SAD was misguiding farmers on the pretext that the government would acquire land forcibly from them, but the truth was that land acquisition would be done if the farmers agreed to it.

Dhillon further said although the government approved the amended land pooling policy, yet it would not be beneficial for the land owners as the latter would not be able to get the assured value even after development of urban centres on the land. Dhillon emphasised that SAD would continue the agitation against the policy till it was not scrapped.

“SAD has decided to organise camps at villages in Ludhiana, where land will be acquired by the government. Our cadre will make the land owners sign an affidavit showing dissent against the land acquisition. Even land records of the land owners will be attached with the affidavits. After collecting the affidavits the same will be submitted to GLADA,” held Dhillon.

Asked if the farmer unions of the state have extended support to SAD, Dhillon said the meeting had already been held with some farmer unions and they agreed to back the party to press the government to scrap the policy.