Land Pooling Policy Faces Grave Opposition from Political Parties & Citizens

To bolster its Land Pooling Policy which is facing intense opposition, on 22 July, the Panjab Cabinet approved an amendment offering commercial plots in return for pooled land measuring as little as one kanal (506 sq m or 0.125 acres). Panjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann said a landowner offering one kanal of land for pooling would get a residential plot of 125 sq m and a commercial space of 25 sq m in return. The government then promised to issue farmers a Letter of Intent (LoI) within 21 days of getting their consent and announced an annual advance of USD 575 per acre to farmers until development work on the land starts. Indian National Congress (INC) Panjab chief Amrinder Singh Raja Warring said the provision of voluntary contribution was a 'bluff' as the govt was aiming to acquire farmers’ land 'forcibly'. Leader of Opposition, INC’s Partap Singh Bajwa, said AAP’s land pooling policy is an attempt to rob Panjab’s agricultural land. He said, 'The policy is not development, but exploitation disguised as reform, a blatant attempt to dispossess farmers of their most sacred asset.' Shiromani Akali Dal president Sukhbir Singh Badal asked village panchayats (councils) to pass resolutions that they would not give their land to the AAP govt under its land pooling policy. In villages of Panjab, AAP workers are being chased away. Boards have come up disallowing them entry, social media is abuzz with opposition to the policy. On 25 Jul, tension flared in Kot Kalan village near Jalandhar as farmers confronted AAP workers over the controversial land pooling scheme. Villagers seized and burned publicity material, chanting slogans against the state govt and AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal, demanding the scheme's withdrawal. The threat of land pooling has brought farmers unions together. Kisan Mukti Morcha has decided to support Samyukt Kisan Morcha’s call for a tractor march on 30 Jul. The govt which had betrayed farmers leaders and arrested them, evicted Farmers Protest 2.0 (2024-25) on 9 Mar, has now united the farmers (earlier coverage).