CHANDIGARH: The Aam Aadmi Party-led Punjab Government is facing backlash in many villages across the state over the controversial land pooling policy, which it has notified and plans to acquire 65,533 acres of land across 21 cities and towns in the state to develop both industrial and residential zones.
As many as 107 panchayats across the state have passed resolutions in their respective villages, saying they will not give up their land to the government and in the coming days, many more panchayats are expected to pass similar resolutions.
Talking with TNIE, Senior Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM) leader and president of BKU (Lakhowal group) Harinder Singh Lakhowal said that the opposition to the state government's controversial land pooling policy is growing, despite CM Bhagwant Mann and several AAP leaders insisting that land acquisition will be purely voluntary.
"Around 15 to 20 panchayats in Jodha, Dohal Kallan, Rattana and other villages near Ludhiana have already passed resolutions in their respective panchayats not to give land to the government.
"Also, many other village panchayats who had earlier passed resolutions not to give land are now re-passing the resolution because the original resolutions were not legally tenable. A proper procedure has to be followed to call a gram sabha and appoint a secretary who will oversee that the resolution has been passed," he added.
Lakhowal said that a total of around 200 panchayats of 160 where land is being acquired for residential purposes and another 40 where, in the coming week, land will be acquired for industrial purpose, are expected to pass the resolutions soon.
Most of them are in Ludhiana, and around 24,000 acres of land is being acquired in the district, followed by Moga, Jalandhar, Hoshiarpur and Amritsar districts, he added.
"Besides this 24,000 acres to be acquired in Ludhiana for residential purpose and another 21,000 acres is being acquired for industrial purposes, the notification of the same is expected to be issued in the coming week for that the farmers unions have called for a meeting tomorrow to oppose the acquisition and we will ask the villagers if they want to give their land to the government or not as all of them have already objected,’’ he said.
Pawandeep Singh of Mehlon said that 250 acres of land is being acquired in their village, which is being opposed.
"The very thought of losing his small landholding and moving to a new place did not let him sleep,’’ he said.
Gurinder Singh of Nathu Bhaini village says that around 350 acres of land in their village are being acquired by the government, leaving nothing to the villagers.
"This is the first legal hurdle we have cleared in what we assume will be a long fight with the state government,’’ he said.
In Bhattian village near Phillaur, where 700 acres of land is to be acquired, the sarpanch of the village Ranjit Singh Batth said that the panchayat passed a resolution against the acquisition a few days ago.
Many farmers are drawing parallels between this policy and the three farm laws that were introduced in 2020 by the BJP-led Union Government, which were later repealed after a year-long struggle.
Senior SKM leader and president of the BKU (Rajewal Group) said that the SKM was also guiding panchayats on filing of resolutions against their land being taken away. "The government is falsely saying that the farmers support this policy,” he said. The farmers from across the state will take out a tractor march on July 30 against the land pooling policy.
