Punjab’s U-turn on land pooling leaves farmers fuming

Punjab Advocate General (AG) H S Mattewal had on March 16 made a statement before the Punjab and Haryana High Court that the matter to implement land-pooling scheme for the litigants in land acquisition case of Sectors 76-80 was discussed with the CM and it was decided that in order to alleviate the problems being faced by the landowners,the land be released as a one-time measure and only in respect of those petitioners who have not collected compensation for acquisition of their land.

The said release or adjustment,the AG had stated,would be subject to their paying external development charges for the said land. The AG had also conveyed to the High Court that the said decision would be put to the Council of Ministers and the Cabinet decision would be placed on record before the High Court on the next date of hearing.

Accordingly,the AG had proposed to the Revenue and Rehabilitation department that the above decision be placed before the Council of Ministers for ratifying it,in order to enable him to make an appropriate statement before the High Court.

However,after deferring the matter twice,the Punjab Cabinet on Wednesday rejected the proposal in view of the legal and financial implications involved and objections raised by the government agencies and departments concerned.

The Greater Mohali Area Development Authority (GMADA) and the Housing and Urban Development department had pointed out serious implications in benefiting 10 per cent litigants in the case.

Of the total 1,164 acres acquired to develop Sectors 76-80 in May 2001,possession of 1,062 acres land was with GMADA while High Court had stayed the dispossession of only 102 acres.

Citing legal repercussions and financial burden of more than Rs 4,500 crore,GMADA had told the state government that neither could GMADA bear the heavy loss nor can it be transferred to the allottees. If the government takes any such decision,then financial burden is to be borne by the government,GMADA had made it clear.

The departments of Revenue,Finance,Local Government,Industry and Commerce also opposed the implementation of land pooling scheme with retrospective effect in sectors 76-80.

Terming the Cabinet’s decision as anti-farmer,Kissan Hit Bachao Committee,which is spearheading the cause of farmers whose land was acquired for extension of Mohali urban estate,has called it injustice to farmers.

“A decision was already taken by the CM and the Cabinet was only to ratify it but instead it turned it down without thought,succumbing to the bureaucracy’s pressure,” said the committee’s convener D P S Baidwan.