‘AAP leaders not welcome’: Backlash against land pooling gathers momentum in Punjab villages

“Our village has 1,956 acres, of which 1,196 acres are included in this scheme. In simple words, you are making our village vanish,” said Jagdev Singh, ex-sarpanch of Jodhan village in Ludhiana.

“This is not just about land—it is about our identity, our culture. The entire village is now united, irrespective of political affiliations. Whether it is the AAP, Congress, or Akali Dal supporters, everyone is on one page. Even the AAP’s own workers are under pressure. But CM Bhagwant Mann and Delhi leaders are still not able to see or hear this resistance,” added Jagdev.

“When we talk about Punjab, we visualise its agriculture fields, bhangra, giddha, our gurdwaras and the rich culture. So, when you are hell bent on reducing the agriculture fields, you are attacking the culture of Punjab,” he said.

Farmers across districts like Ludhiana, Hoshiarpur, Moga, Amritsar, Ferozepur, and Patiala are planning movements. “From July 28, residents in villages such as Pur Hiran and Shergarh of Hoshiarpur district will put up boards warning AAP leaders and development officials not to enter their land,” said Manjit Singh Rai, president of BKU Doaba, who lives in the Pur Hiran village.

“My entire 7-acre ancestral land in Pur Hiran has been included in the scheme. A total of 300 acres in our village is affected. There will be no more so-called land pooling awareness camps allowed in our villages. AAP workers here are aware of the protest buildup and are keeping silent—they themselves know this scheme is hurting people, including their own families,” said Rai.

Farmers question CM Mann over land pooling

In Ferozepur, farmer Balwinder Singh Kanwar questioned the credibility of CM Bhagwant Mann. “Why doesn’t CM Mann start the scheme in his own village Satoj in the Sangrur district? Let him give up part of his ancestral land and ask his villagers to urbanise. Only then will he understand our pain. We don’t want any more communication from AAP leaders on this issue. We only want the scheme to be revoked.”

Between July 21 and 23, land pooling awareness camps were scheduled in six locations in the Malak, Aligarh, Pona, and Agwar Gujaran villages of the Jagraon constituency in Ludhiana district, where over 700 acres fall under the scheme. However, the residents outrightly rejected the proposal and handed written resolutions to officials asking them not to return.

“We are not interested in any discussion. We will not part ways with our land. They should stop telling us about so-called benefits,” said Didar Singh from Malak village.

The scope of the land pooling scheme currently includes just 164 villages, from which acquisition of over 50,000 acres has been planned. However, the backlash is widespread and growing.

“The CM is himself a farmer, but perhaps he has forgotten what the land means to us. It is not a piece of property, it is our soul,” said Rai.

The agitation is gathering momentum. What began as a call by Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM) Punjab for a tractor march on July 30 has now been endorsed by the Kisan Mazdoor Morcha (KMM) as well. “This has to be fought on a united front,” said KMM coordinator Sarwan Singh Pandher.

“In addition to the joint tractor march, we will be holding a motorcycle rally across cities on August 11 and a protest rally outside the office of Punjab Urban Development Authority, Jalandhar, on August 20 under the banner of ‘Zameen Bachao, Pind Bachao, Punjab Bachao (save land, save village, save Punjab) slogan.”

NREGA workers will also join the July 28 protest, citing a direct threat to their livelihood. “Once land pooling is enforced and agriculture disappears, we will lose our jobs,” said Kanwaljeet Singh Khanna of BKU Dakaunda.

Pandher summed up the growing internal friction within the AAP itself: “Party workers in villages are already feeling suffocated. Maybe they are unable to communicate the ground reality to the MLAs or the CM. Or maybe the leadership has looked the other way. Either way, the government will have to roll back this scheme—come what may.”

Villagers of Aligarh and Pona Wednesday opposed the policy by waving black flags at government officials who had come to promote the scheme. Sarpanch Hardeep Singh Pali and former sarpanch Nirbhai Singh from Aligarh village led the protest.

“We are food providers, not fools or illiterates. We told the officials to sit down, and we will explain to them how this policy—an invention of Delhi’s power-hungry Kejriwal—is designed to fill the coffers of corporates and big colonisers while pushing farmers and labourers into poverty. The policy is a new form of Modi’s now-repealed three black farm laws,” said Nirbhai Singh, former sarpanch of the Aligarh village.

“While claiming that Modi prepares to destroy Indian agriculture through free trade agreements with the US, Mann is handing over farmers’ lands to greedy profiteers, putting them on the path to ruin. AAP supporters are not coming to our protests, but they are preferring to stay quiet on the issue as of now,” added Nirbhai Singh.