Villagers protest proposed land acquisition for urban estates in Ludhiana.
Ludhiana: Tensions are running high across 32 villages around this city after reports emerged of a leaked notification suggesting the state's Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) govt plans to acquire more than 24,000 acres of farmland for new urban estates.
More than 1,200 villagers and farmer unionists gathered at a Ferozepur Road marriage palace on Wednesday, demanding that chief minister Bhagwant Mann clarify the govt's intentions publicly. The proposed land pooling scheme, involving the Greater Ludhiana Area Development Authority (Glada) reportedly, has triggered fears of mass displacement and economic ruin among farmers.
Jagroop Singh of the Bhartiya Kisan Union (Dakonda) said: "The govt is silent, and if this is untrue, the CM must say so."
He warned the farmers that nearly 20,000 families could be displaced and forced to accept just an acre in return for five, without proper compensation. Villagers, including those from Hassanpur and Mullanpur, expressed outrage and confusion over the alleged plan, with concerns it could take over a decade to implement, leaving them in limbo.
"Where are these farmers supposed to go in the meantime?" asked Amarjeet Singh Gill, a local farmer.
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Sukhpal Singh Khaira, Congress MLA from Bholath, led the political charge, calling the alleged land pooling a "sinister land grab" driven by AAP's Delhi-based leadership. Speaking at the meeting, Khaira accused AAP of surrendering Punjab's agricultural wealth to "land mafias" for political gain. "This is a betrayal of our farmers — a recycled scheme that has already failed elsewhere in Punjab," Khaira said. "Bhagwant Mann is acting under Arvind Kejriwal's orders.
It's not development; it's exploitation."
Khaira vowed to oppose the plan "tooth and nail," demanding an immediate cancellation of the proposal and a white paper to reveal its beneficiaries. As uncertainty looms, villagers say their livelihoods, and Punjab's agrarian legacy, hang in the balance — and they want answers, not silence.
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