Punjab cabinet approves de-notification of controversial land pooling policy
The decision was taken during a cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann.
Following the government's withdrawal of the policy, farmers' unions and opposition parties had been pressing the state to issue a formal notification for its rollback. Under mounting pressure from these groups, the government on Monday (August 11) announced that it was withdrawing the policy, which it had earlier described as 'farmer-friendly.'
Opposition parties and farmers' unions, who had described the policy as a land 'grabbing' scheme, called its rollback a victory for the people of Punjab, claiming they had 'forced' the Mann government to reverse its decision.
Last week, the Punjab and Haryana High Court had stayed the policy, criticising the government for introducing it without conducting any environmental or social impact assessment.
As per the policy, the state government had planned to acquire 65,533 acres of land across 21 cities and towns in Punjab to develop industrial and residential zones, a move said to be the largest acquisition of land by the state government since 1966.
Under the policy, an owner would be given a 1,000 square yard residential plot and a 200 square yard commercial plot in fully developed land in lieu of one acre of land.
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