Submit notification revoking land pooling policy, Parliamentary panel to Punjab Govt

The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Agriculture, Animal Husbandry and Food Processing has directed the Punjab Government to furnish the notification withdrawing the controversial land pooling policy.

The state’s AAP government had announced the withdrawal of the initiative on August 11 after statewide protests by farmer bodies and the Opposition parties.

However, a formal notification is yet to be issued by the government.

Meanwhile, sources said the Punjab Cabinet is expected to approve the withdrawal of the policy at a meeting tomorrow, a step prior to a formal notification is issued.

The development has come as leading farmer grouping have refused to call off their stirs against the initiative till the government issues a notification, with the distrust over the issue running deep between the two sides.

The parliamentary panel, which issued the directions is headed by Congress Lok Sabha MP Charanjit Singh Channi. It had on August 5 summoned the Punjab Chief Secretary, and principal secretaries of the departments of housing and urban development and agriculture to explain the governments’ stance on the “decreasing fertile land due to indiscriminate acquisition” for urbanisation and infrastructure development’.

On August 12, the state through the Secretary, Housing and Urban Development, had informed the panel that the scheme had been withdrawn.

Channi, who is a former Punjab CM, told The Tribune that the state government had been asked to submit the notification. “It is matter of concern as over 63,000 acres of land was being acquired in different parts of the state without even taking note of its social impact and rehabilitation of farmers,” he said.

The policy envisioned acquiring 65,533 acres, including 45,861 acres in Ludhiana district alone, in exchange for residential and commercial plots.

First announced in May this year, it quickly met with political and farmer resistance.

‘AAP ruining economy’

Meanwhile, the state’s main Opposition Congress alleged that the cash-strapped AAP government was now eyeing worth Rs 20,000 crore property held by the Greater Mohali Area Development Authority (GMADA) to fund its populist schemes by raising loans.

The Leader of Opposition in the Punjab Assembly, Partap Singh Bajwa, reiterated the allegation that ruling AAP’s real intention behind introducing the policy was to “sell off Punjab’s fertile agricultural land to builder lobbies”.

“Now, it is eyeing GMADA properties. The AAP government is driving Punjab into economic ruin. The ruling party is eyeing funds of different departments to fund its unsustainable populist schemes,” he added.

Jalandhar Cantonment Congress legislator Pargat Singh said, “This is not governance—it’s economic suicide.”