Panjab Asks for Special Package; Govt. Eyes 24,311 Acres Outside Ludhiana

Asserting that Panjab is the food bowl and sword arm of the nation, on 10 May, Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann said the union government should give a special package to the border state. Mann put forth his views during an all-party meeting convened by Panjab Governor and Union Territory Chandigarh Administrator Gulab Chand Kataria. Referring to India's recent hostilities with Pakistan, Mann said, Panjab always faces the first brunt during every war adding the state needs special treatment on the lines of Jammu & Kashmir for its enormous contribution to the nation. He said, the state govt. will also raise the demand for a border area allowance for doctors, teachers, and other workers. Panjab Bharatiya Janata Party president Sunil Jakhar also supported the idea of a special economic package for the state. On 16 May, Union minister Ravneet Singh Bittu had a one-on-one meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi: 'We discussed key initiatives for Panjab’s development, focusing on growth and prosperity for our state.' Bittu also discussed the issue of water shortage for the border state, possibilities of Panjab gaining from the Indus Waters Treaty being placed in ‘abeyance’, feasibility of constructing canal systems for Doaba (central Panjab) and Majha (northern Panjab) regions, and the upcoming Ludhiana West assembly by-poll. However, the issue of Khadoor Sahib Member of Parliament Amritpal Singh incarcerated at Dibrugarh Jail in Assam did not come up. Meanwhile, on 18 May, Shiromani Akali Dal president Sukhbir Singh Badal demanded an immediate review and scrapping of the Panjab govt. decision to acquire 24,311 acres of land across 32 villages in Ludhiana for developing new urban estates. He said the move was anti-farmer and 'aimed solely at filling the coffers of the ruling Aam Aadmi Party.' In a statement Badal said, ‘It is condemnable that this decision has been taken without consulting or taking the consent of farmers, whose land will be taken. Thousands of farmers will be rendered landless and this will affect their way of life irreversibly’ (earlier coverage).