Ludhiana villagers oppose Punjab govt's land pooling scheme for urban expansion, plan protest on Monday

Indian Express

a day ago

A growing number of villagers in Ludhiana have come out strongly against the Punjab government's ambitious land pooling scheme, questioning the state's ability to develop new urban estates when several old colonies remain incomplete or abandoned for decades.
Residents of Malak, Pona and Aligarh have announced that they will not give even an inch of their fertile agricultural land for the proposed urban expansion. A protest dharna has been called in Jagraon on Monday, with participation expected from multiple villages.
In Ludhiana, around 32 villages are being affected due to this proposed land pooling scheme. At a meeting in Chandigarh last month, the villagers had announced their opposition to the landpooling scheme.
Didar Singh Dhillon, a resident of Malak village in Jagraon, pointed to the defunct Jagraon sugar mill as a classic example. 'This cooperative mill was closed down in the mid-1990s. In 2009, the then SAD-BJP government decided to convert its 113 acres into a residential colony under the Punjab Urban Development Authority (PUDA). Many plots were auctioned but today the colony lies abandoned — only three-four houses have come up. People can't even resell their plots and there are hardly any buyers, and many remain unauctioned,' Dhillon said.
He added, 'Now under the new land pooling scheme, the Punjab government plans to acquire over 24,000 acres in Ludhiana alone, including nearly 350 acres from our village. How can we trust them with new estates when the old one in our backyard about 4 km away remains a ghost colony?'
Neighbouring Pona and Aligarh villages face similar concerns, with about 250 acres of land collectively earmarked for acquisition under the same scheme.
Balwinder Singh from Bhanohar village in Dakha constituency said villagers feel betrayed by repeated promises that have failed to show any result. 'Our village alone has a private PUDA-approved colony spread over 100 acres that has been abandoned for more than 10 years. Investors' money is stuck. Not just this — even reputed developers' colonies in South City, one of Ludhiana's most posh areas, are still not 100 per cent occupied,' he said.
'The City Centre project in a prime location of Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar in Ludhiana district is in limbo due to legal disputes for more than 15 years now. On Rani Jhansi Road in Ghumar Mandi, a multi-storeyed government commercial building lies unused while private buildings nearby are thriving. The list is long,' he said.
Singh argued that instead of acquiring more prime agricultural land, the government should focus on providing facilities and clearances for pending projects and help clear the huge backlog that has left hundreds of investors in limbo.
On Tuesday, villagers from Malak, Pona, and Aligarh held a joint meeting to chalk out their protest strategy. 'We have decided not to give our land under the so-called voluntary land pooling scheme. Anyone who wants to support the ruling AAP government can snap ties with us — we have told them categorically,' Dhillon said.
Harpreet Singh, Jagtar Singh, and other local residents pledged full support to the July 7 dharna.
According to villagers, the Punjab Government has issued advertisements in newspapers inviting voluntary acquisition of over 7,800 acres in the first phase, as part of its larger goal of urban development under the new land pooling policy. The scheme, which is being pitched as a 'win-win' model for both landowners and the government, aims to avoid litigation and ensure faster development of residential and industrial estates.
However, the backlash highlights the deep mistrust that many villagers now hold after past experiences with incomplete colonies and stalled commercial projects. 'What's the point of building new cities on paper when old ones have turned into jungles?' asked Dhillon.
Whether the government can win the villagers' confidence and move ahead with its plans will become clearer in the coming weeks — especially as more villages hold meetings and decide their stance on the so-called voluntary pooling process.