Roll back land pooling policy: Punjab farmers hold tractor rallies

Thousands of farmers and farm labourers, sitting atop tractors, braved the hot and humid weather as they took to the streets across Punjab’s rural hinterland on Wednesday in protest against the state government’s proposed acquisition of 65,533 acres under the land pooling policy. The farmers are demanding a rollback of the scheme.

Led by the Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM), the umbrella body of several farmer unions that had also spearheaded the protest against the Centre’s now-repealed three farm laws in 2020-21, the rallies saw massive participation by farmers as they made their way through not just the 116 villages where the land is proposed to be acquired but also many towns.

While the police remained on high alert and a tense ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) monitored the support received by the SKM for the protest, farmers said the stir would continue till the policy was withdrawn.

After AAP's Anandpur Sahib MLA Malvinder Singh Kang had earlier spoken against the policy, the party’s Ropar MLA, Dinesh Chadha, on Wednesday said if the farmers were unwilling to give away their land, he would stand by them and not an inch of land would be acquired.

Two days ago, a block president of AAP from Jodhan resigned against the policy.

SKM leaders Balbir Singh Rajewal and Raminder Singh Patiala told The Tribune that the success of their rallies had shown the resentment among people over the bid to take away their fertile land, deprive farmers of their livelihoods and displace them from their homes. “The government must accept that the policy is wrong and roll it back with a notification to that effect, or face farmers’ ire. We will have a meeting of the SKM again on August 4 in Ludhiana, where the next course of action will be decided. The biggest-ever protest rally in Punjab is being planned on August 24. Till then, the programme of asking panchayats of all 116 villages to pass resolutions against giving up their lands will continue. Ninety per cent of the affected villages have already passed these resolutions,” they said, adding that while land in 76 villages was proposed to be acquired for making residential colonies, land from 40 villages was being acquired for making industrial zones.

Punjab Finance Minister Harpal Cheema, when asked about the success of today’s rallies, said the farmers were exercising their right to protest. But the protest was unfounded and farmers had been clearly misled by opposition parties, because the policy was not just voluntary but also in favour of farmers, he said.

Meanwhile, the SKM managed to exhibit its biggest show of strength in Ludhiana district, where 45,861 acres are proposed to be acquired. Tractor rallies were taken out from Balion, Kumkalan, Dakha, Jodhan and Jagraon. In Amritsar, where 4,464 acres are to be acquired, rallies were taken out by the Kisan Mazdoor Morcha in several border villages. Similar rallies were also taken out in Patiala, Sangrur, Ferozepur, Fatehgarh Sahib and Ropar among other cities.