Land pooling policy: Punjab govt promises farmers Letter of Intent in 21 days

As land pooling policy of Punjab’s Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) fails to enthuse farmers, the government today promised to issue them Letter of Intent (LoI) within 21 days of getting their consent.

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The government has also announced that an annual advance of Rs 50,000 per acre will be paid to farmers and this will be given till the development work on the land starts. Initially, the government had promised to give just Rs 30,000 per acre as compensation for the first three years after the land was given for acquisition under the policy.

“Till the development starts, farmers will be able to continue farming on their land and will also get full profit from it. As soon as the development work begins, this amount will be increased from Rs 50,000 to Rs 1 lakh per acre. This increased amount will continue to be given regularly until the development is completed,” said an official in the government.

The new concessions have been announced as the opposition to the policy continues to grow, with all Opposition parties and Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM) throwing their weight behind farmers opposing the policy. While most political parties have already been staging dharnas, they have also promised to support SKM in their tractor rally on July 30.