AAP govt looking to revise land pooling policy: Mohali MLA Kulwant Singh

Addressing locals at an even to mark the ‘Yudh Nashyean Virudh’ campaign at Phase 11, the MLA said, “The current policy will be amended and aligned with the previous version to address growing discontent and confusion among landowners. The consent process for development projects, as outlined in the earlier version of the policy, will be reinstated. This means inputs from local panchayats, farmer associations and village communities will once again be prioritised in planning and execution.” The MLA urged residents of rural areas to trust the government and not to fall prey to rumours. “Our goal is to ensure balanced regional development, while protecting the rights of farmers,” he stated.

Originally designed to facilitate planned development in Punjab, the land pooling policy recently drew widespread criticism, with farmers alleging the policy “ignored their interests and failed to provide fair compensation”.

The state government has identified over 40,000 acres in 27 towns and cities, with 30,000 acres identified in Ludhiana, Mohali and Amritsar alone. The land will be acquired after the owners offer their land voluntarily.

Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann had earlier told the media that the land pooling would be 100 per cent voluntary. “It will help people get houses in legal colonies and help check the mushrooming illegal colonies. My house in Sangrur is in an illegal colony. You check your houses also,” Mann said.

Faced with protests over the recently introduced land pooling policy of the Aam Aadmi Party government, former Delhi minister and state party co-in-charge Satyendar Jain had asked AAP MLAs to go among the public and educate landowners about the policy to quell criticism. Jain huddled with MLAs from the Assembly segments where land has been identified for pooling.

Meanwhile, BJP leader Tarun Chugh Saturday lashed out at the AAP government over its land pooling policy, calling it a “ponzi scheme to loot farmers’ land”.

“This is not pooling, it is pure looting. The BJP will fight this tooth and nail. The Mann government is only a puppet, the real strings are pulled from Delhi by Arvind Kejriwal,” Chugh alleged.

Punjab Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema had on Friday called the scheme farmer-friendly, and said it is based on mutual consent. He had asserted that not a single inch of land will be forcibly taken over from any farmer.