High Court pauses Punjab's land-pooling policy in big jolt to AAP
The court had earlier questioned whether the policy included provisions for the rehabilitation of landless labourers, and whether a social impact assessment was conducted prior to notification.Gill's petition called for the quashing of the state's notification dated June 24, along with the entire policy, terming it an act of 'colourable legislation' that infringes on fundamental rights. The plea further argued that the Punjab Regional and Town Planning and Development Act, 1995 is the only valid framework under which such a policy could be formulated.The petition pointed out that there exists no legal mechanism to challenge the policy under the 2013 Land Acquisition Act, leaving affected individuals with no avenue for redressal.SHIROMANI AKALI DAL PROTESTS AGAINST LAND-POOLING POLICYThe policy has drawn strong opposition from political parties and farmer groups. Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president Sukhbir Singh Badal denounced the land-pooling policy as a 'land-grabbing scheme' and accused the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government of attempting to 'loot' farmers of their fertile land.Badal claimed that AAP had struck an 'underhand deal' with builders from Delhi worth Rs 30,000 crore, alleging that the policy was aimed at transferring agricultural land to private developers. Announcing a protest campaign, Badal declared that the SAD would launch an agitation from September 1 in Mohali, continuing until the policy is withdrawn.Despite the criticism, the AAP government has defended the policy as farmer-friendly, asserting that no land will be forcibly acquired. According to the policy, landowners will receive 1,000 square yards of residential land and 200 square yards of commercial land in developed zones in exchange for each acre pooled.- EndsWith inputs from PTI
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Time of India
an hour ago
- Time of India
Punjab to launch anti-drone system to combat cross-border smuggling today
1 2 Chandigarh: The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) govt in Punjab will launch an anti-drone system to combat cross-border smuggling from Tarn Taran district on the second line of defence along the state's border with Pakistan on Saturday. The initiative, amid the state's "Yudh Nashian Virudh" (war against drugs) campaign, will see the deployment of three vehicle-mounted anti-drone systems. Procured from the Electronics Corporation of India Limited (ECIL), each system has a range of 8km and designed to detect, track, jam, and neutralise rogue drones. Apart from Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann, AAP national convenor Arvind Kejriwal, a number of AAP ministers and MLAs, senior officers of Punjab Police, and the Border Security Force (BSF) will be present during the launch, a Punjab govt functionary told TOI. Officers from the Army may also attend the launch. The ministry of home affairs approved the system, which is part of a larger plan to acquire nine such units at Rs 51.4 crore Of the nine systems, the three anti-drone systems were delivered to Punjab recently, an official said, adding that each system costs around Rs 5.5 crore. "These will be deployed in the areas along the second line of defence in the state," the official said. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Anne Hegerty And Her Partner, Who You Will Easily Recognize Sport Pirate Undo To bolster border security amid escalation with Pakistan and concerns over the rising smuggling of drugs and weapons from across the border through drones over the years, the Punjab council of ministers led by CM Mann, in an emergency meeting of the cabinet in May, approved the purchase of nine anti-drone systems. Announcing the cabinet decision, CM Mann stated that the technology would cover the entire Punjab border with Pakistan, from Abohar to Pathankot. The goal is to supplement the BSF's existing infrastructure and help stop the smuggling of drugs and weapons. In June, during the Ludhiana West byelection, Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal, then a cabinet minister in the ruling AAP in Punjab, said that Punjab was installing the anti-drone system on its own. Dhaliwal, who was later dropped as a minister in a July cabinet reshuffle, claimed that CM Mann had repeatedly asked the BJP-led central govt to deploy an anti-drone system on the Punjab border, but those requests yielded no results, prompting Punjab to act independently. In March, the anti-drone system was tested in a trial run at the border village of Naushehra Dhalla in Tarn Taran district. Punjab AAP chief and cabinet minister Aman Arora and his colleague Laljit Singh Bhullar were among those present during the trial, along with senior Punjab Police officers. In its war against drugs, which started on March 1, Punjab Police in 160 days recovered more than 1,000 kg of heroin, registered over 15,500 FIRs, and made 25,000 arrests. Stay updated with the latest local news from your city on Times of India (TOI). Check upcoming bank holidays , public holidays , and current gold rates and silver prices in your area. Get the latest lifestyle updates on Times of India, along with Raksha Bandhan wishes , messages and quotes !
Indian Express
an hour ago
- Indian Express
Delhi govt to form DJB body, bring policy to regularise illegal borewells, commercial establishments: Water Minister Parvesh in assembly
Delhi Water Minister Parvesh Sahib Singh on Friday said that a Delhi Jal Board (DJB) agency will be formed and a regularisation policy will be formulated to crack down on illegal borewells run by private contractors and commercial establishments across the city. Responding to questions raised in the legislative assembly on the city's water crisis, he said that the Delhi government is already working on forming the DJB enforcement agency. 'The current situation in Delhi is a result of 11 years of negligence. Abruptly shutting all borewells is not practical. Action is being taken against those selling water from borewells. An enforcement team is being formed to monitor commercial establishments and impose penalties if necessary,' said the minister. The minister, in his reply to another question, said that a pipeline project worth Rs 7 crore was executed in Sangam Vihar, but due to leakage, it never became operational. 'Now officials are seeking an additional Rs 4 crore to repair it — an example of sheer negligence by the previous administration,' he said. He also blamed the previous AAP-led Delhi government for not integrating unauthorised colonies into the Master Plan of Delhi, and accused them of allowing these to expand for 'political gain' and 'vote bank'. 'This (AAP) might be the first government in the country that actually let water wastage rise. If we bring this down to even 10 per cent, Delhi will no longer face any water shortage,' he claimed. He also revealed that the Asian Development Bank had refused to fund water projects under the previous government due to their demand of a 6 per cent commission. 'Within just a week of our government taking charge, the ADB reinitiated talks and expressed willingness to cooperate.' The minister further informed the house that new pipelines have been laid along 15 km, and 58 km of old lines have been replaced in the past few months. Pipelines, which had stopped functioning, have also been fixed.
Economic Times
an hour ago
- Economic Times
EC should respond to Rahul Gandhi with facts, not planted news: AAP's Saurabh Bhardwaj
Synopsis Following Rahul Gandhi's claims of a 'choreographed' 2024 election, the Election Commission demanded a declaration or apology. Saurabh Bhardwaj of AAP has now challenged the poll body. He questioned the CEC's conduct and urged a factual response to Gandhi's vote theft allegations. Bhardwaj referenced past concerns about voter list manipulation. He criticized Gandhi for not addressing the issue earlier. ANI EC should respond to Rahul Gandhi with facts, not planted news: AAP's Saurabh Bhardwaj New Delhi: After the Election Commission asked Congress MP Rahul Gandhi to either sign a declaration or apologise for his "absurd" allegations, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Saurabh Bhardwaj said the poll body should respond with facts. Speaking to ANI, the AAP leader accused the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar of "planting news" based on sources. "...Gyanesh Kumar ji should be ashamed. Can the Election Commission plant news quoting sources? If he has any self-respect left, then he should take action against those who ran the information about Rahul Gandhi on sources.... Before the Delhi election, we had told EC about voter list what happened? Where was Rahul Gandhi when we had raised this issue before him? At the time, he should have raised his voice. When he did this, he didn't fulfil his responsibility... The Election Commission should respond to him with facts..." Bhardwaj told ANI. This comes after the Election Commission of India (ECI) asked Congress MP Rahul Gandhi to sign the declaration by the Chief Electoral Officers of Maharashtra and Karnataka or apologise for his "absurd" allegations, according to sources. At a press conference on August 7, Rahul Gandhi claimed that the 2024 Lok Sabha elections were "choreographed" by the EC to benefit the BJP, which he said appeared "immune to anti-incumbency." Citing internal analysis, Gandhi said the Congress expected to win 16 seats in Karnataka but ended up with only nine. He said the Congress investigated seven unexpected losses, zeroing in on Mahadevapura, where he alleged vote theft involving 1,00,250 votes. Presenting Congress's research on voting in the Mahadevapura Assembly in Karnataka, Rahul Gandhi alleged "vote chori" (vote theft) of 1,00,250 votes."Our internal polling told us we would win 16 seats in Karnataka; we won nine. We then focused on seven unexpected losses. We focused on data is 2024 data from the Election Commission; the total votes polled in the Lok Sabha were 6.26 lakhs. The BJP won with 6,58,915, securing a margin of 32,707. But then we look at Mahadevapura, where Congress polls 1,15,586 and BJP polls 2,29,632. Congress wins all Vidhan Sabhas but this one," the Congress leader said. "We found 1,00,250 votes stolen. Stolen in five different ways. Duplicate voters, fake and invalid addresses, and bulk voters in a single address, on a building with 50-60 people living. But when we go there, no record of those people living there. One family living in that house," he said.
