Farmers from 17 villages launch campaign in Mohali against sale of shamlat land

“If land is sold with the consent of villagers, the panchayat gets a fair price. But forced decisions will benefit neither villagers nor panchayats,” a sarpanch, who wished to remain unnamed, said.

Officials attempted to justify the auctions by citing Dairi village, where five acres fetched Rs 20 crore per acre at auction — far above GMADA’s Rs 6 crore per acre acquisition rate. Union leaders dismissed the argument immediately, arguing why the land needed to be sold at all.

Farmer leader Parmdeep Singh Baidwan warned that selling these lands would deprive villages of future spaces — like housing for poor families, playgrounds, and community centers. “This is our heritage, a collective property passed down generations. It will not be sold at any cost,” he declared.

Darshan Singh Dhaliwal, chairman of the Progressive Front, accused the government and corporate entities of collusion: “This isn’t about just 17 villages — it’s part of a larger blueprint to loot Punjab’s 13,000 villages… If these lands are sold, the very future of villages will be destroyed,” Dhaliwal said.

The gathering resolved to submit a memorandum to the Mohali Deputy Commissioner on August 29, followed by representations to the Director Panchayats and the Chief Minister. “These lands belong to villagers, not governments. Generations have preserved them, and we will not allow them to be looted,” unions declared.

Meanwhile, DDPO Mohali, Parambeer Kaur, has clarified that recent media reports on the proposed sale of shamlat land in 17 villages are based on inaccurate information.

She said the Rural Development and Panchayats Department’s focus is to protect shamlat land from illegal encroachments especially small plots near real estate projects or leased at nominal rates while improving Gram Panchayat revenue.

The land in question comprises small non-agricultural patches of 500–1500 square yards, many under encroachment or yielding negligible rent. She stressed that exploring auction is only at an initial stage, and no decision or policy has yet been finalised.

What is shamlat land?

Shamlat land refers to village common land collectively owned and managed by the Gram Panchayat, used historically for grazing, community spaces, or collective needs.

The AAP government in Punjab previously launched a ‘shamlat cell’ to identify and free encroached land and rehabilitate it for community use, pledging not to transfer such land without panchayat consent.

However, its controversial land pooling policy, aimed at acquiring thousands of acres in return for developed plots, drew fierce backlash. Facing opposition from farmers and a later high court stay, meant that the policy was officially withdrawn in August 2025. It’s against the backdrop of this scrapped policy that villagers are viewing the letter from the administration with suspicion.