2 days ago
High Court pauses Punjab's land-pooling policy in big jolt to AAP
In a major setback for the Aam Admi Party (AAP), the Punjab and Haryana High Court on Thursday ordered an interim stay on the operation of the Punjab government's Land Pooling Policy stay came in response to a petition filed by Gurdeep Singh Gill, a Ludhiana-based resident, who challenged the legality and constitutionality of the policy. The petitioner alleged that the policy was enacted without the mandatory social and environmental impact assessments, and bypassed consultation with Gram Panchayats and Gram Sabhas, in violation of the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, the hearing, petitioner's counsel Gurjeet Singh confirmed that the High Court has directed the Punjab government to file a reply within four weeks.
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 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 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 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 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 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
