Latest news with #PunjabLandPoolingPolicy
Hindustan Times
18 hours ago
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
Farmers stage motorcycle march in Punjab to oppose land pooling policy
The Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee (KMSC) held a bike rally on Monday against the Punjab Land Pooling Policy, urging public support for their cause. Farmers' leader Sarwan Singh Pandher said that following the bike rally, they will hold a Mahapanchayat in Jalandhar.(ANI) They protested against the Land Pooling Policy, which defines the terms for compensation of agricultural land acquisition in the state. Farmers' leader Sarwan Singh Pandher said that following the bike rally, they will hold a Mahapanchayat in Jalandhar. Pandher told ANI, "Punjabis should come together and support us in our protest against the government. After today's motorcycle march, all unions will hold a Mahapanchayat in Kukar village, Jalandhar. We have also written to SKM (Samyukt Kisan Morcha), and there will be a big movement to force the government to take back the policy. Today's motorcycle march will uproot the government." Also read : HC stays land pooling policy: Aug 16 protest on, says SKM He added that their campaign is revealing the government's true face behind the policy. "A perception war is going on. The government is saying the policy is good, but we are going to the public to reveal the government's true face. In the next phase, we are not denying the possibility of a protest at the borders," he said.' Further, Pandher said that KMSC is also supporting the electricity department employees' strike against the privatisation. The farmers' leader said, "Employees of the electricity department are on strike against the privatisation, and Kisan Mazdoor Morcha also supports that. Everyone demands electricity, be it people in urban areas, rural, a shopkeeper or a student. If the electricity gets costly, the poor would not be able to pay the bills." On August 7, the Punjab and Haryana High Court granted an interim stay on the Punjab land pooling policy. Meanwhile, the BJP will hold protests against the policy from August 17 to September 1. Punjab BJP vice president Fatehjung Singh Bajwa told ANI, 'The state government's land pooling policy in Punjab is not in the interest of the farmers, especially small farmers and land labourers... Our party will hold protests from 17 August to 1 September wherever the state government is acquiring land in Punjab. We will also tell the people there how this policy of the Punjab government is going to cheat Punjab.'
Indian Express
4 days ago
- Politics
- Indian Express
HC stays Punjab land pooling policy for four weeks
The Punjab and Haryana High Court on Thursday stayed the implementation of the Punjab Land Pooling Policy, 2025 for four weeks after the state government failed to explain how it planned to develop the estimated 7,800 acres of land in and around Ludhiana. The oral order came from a division bench of Justices Anupinder Singh Grewal and Deepak Manchanda, which granted the state time till September 10 to file its response and stayed the policy until then. During the resumed hearing of the petition filed by 72-year-old Ludhiana-based farmer Gurdeep Singh Gill, the court asked Punjab's counsel whether any Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) or Social Impact Assessment (SIA) had been conducted before publishing the land pooling notification. Advocate General Maninderjit Singh, appearing for Punjab, submitted that the land was not being handed over to private developers but would be developed by state agencies. However, the court was informed that it costs the government approximately Rs 1.2 crore to develop one acre of pooled land. With over 7,800 acres proposed to be brought under the scheme near Ludhiana alone, the estimated cost exceeds Rs 9,000 crore. When asked how the state planned to mobilise these funds, Punjab had no answer. Taking note of the absence of a clear position on the statutory assessments as well as the financial feasibility of the project, the bench granted Punjab four weeks to file a comprehensive reply. Until then, implementation of the policy will remain stayed. Senior advocate Gurjeet Singh Gill, along with advocates Manan Kheterpal, Manat Kaur and Rahul Jadge, appeared for the petitioner. In his petition, Gurdeep Singh Gill, who owns six acres, has challenged the June 4 notification that brought his agricultural land under the land pooling scheme of the Greater Ludhiana Area Development Authority (GLADA). He has sought quashing of the policy, terming it 'colourable legislation' and violative of his constitutional rights under Articles 14, 19(1)(g), 21, and 300-A. The petition argues that the policy was framed under the Land Acquisition Act, 2013 (LARR), which does not permit such pooling schemes and mandates prior consultation, public hearings, and assessment reports under Sections 4 to 6 and 10. It alleges that no such processes were followed and that the land marked for pooling includes multi-cropped, irrigated fields, which cannot be acquired except under exceptional circumstances. Gill, whose family migrated from Layallpur (now Faisalabad) during Partition and rebuilt their lives farming in Ludhiana's Phagla village, has said that the policy threatens to strip him of his agricultural livelihood without compensation or rehabilitation. The petition also points out that unlike states such as Haryana and Delhi which framed land pooling policies under their respective town planning laws, Punjab has bypassed the Punjab Regional and Town Planning and Development Act, 1995, and issued the policy under the LARR Act, 2013, which does not provide a framework for land pooling. The matter will now be heard on September 10.
