Farmers Rally Against Land Pooling, Govt to Stagger Scheme

On 30 Jul, thousands of farmers across Panjab participated in a massive tractor rally against the state government’s contentious land pooling policy. The protest, led by the state unit of the Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM) and supported by several other farmer unions, including the Kisan Mazdoor Morcha and SKM (non-political), marked a rare moment of complete unity across all farmers’ forums. Long convoys of tractors rolled out on Ferozepur Road, Grand Trunk Road, and the highways in Bathinda and Mansa, covering nearly 164 villages that fall under the policy which aims to pool over 65K acres of land. The protest was most intense in Ludhiana, Amritsar, Ferozepur, Moga, Patiala, Mohali, and Jalandhar, where farmers said their very existence was under threat. Women rallied at their villages and defended their lands. Increasingly, residents, activists, and even political leaders are pointing to several Punjab Urban Development Authority-approved projects that have either failed to attract buyers or remain stalled for over two decades. When the govt tried to showcase a few who have consented to part with their lands, the farmers fact-checked them and pointed out they are either relatives of members of the ruling Aam Aadmi Party or industrialists, real estate developers, and not farmers. Data from the Housing Department shows that in the last 25 years only 10,967 acres have been acquired by different development authorities. Of these, nearly 8K acres have been developed, rest are not. Earlier acquired lands have also gone into private hands. The Panjab govt has now decided to stagger the land acquisition. In Ludhiana district, it is acquiring only 6K acres by the year-end. The smaller towns would be spared for now. Farmers have also filed a case at the Punjab and Haryana High Court. The petitioners argue the Land Pooling Policy is contrary to the Indian Constitution's mandate of Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013.