Latest news with #PunjabRegionalTownPlanningandDevelopmentAct
Indian Express
14 hours ago
- Politics
- Indian Express
Punjab's land pooling policy and its criticism
A land pooling policy, meant to acquire more than 40,000 acres of farmland for housing purposes, has triggered protests in Punjab. Here's why. The Land Pooling Policy, 2025 is a flagship initiative of the Punjab government with the stated aim of promoting 'planned urban development'. Unlike in traditional land acquisition, where the state simply acquires land for compensation, the pooling initiative is meant to be voluntary. The policy seeks to check the proliferation of illegal colonies and arrest haphazard urban growth, while ensuring landowners remain stakeholders in development, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann has said. For every 1 acre of land pooled, landowners will get a 1,000 sq yard residential plot and a 200 sq yard commercial plot (1 acre= 4,840 sq yards). In the case of larger contributions, for every 9 acres of pooled land the landowners will get 3 acres of developed land, suitable for group housing. For 50 acres pooled, they will get 30 acres of developed land. The policy is currently being rolled out in 27 cities across Punjab, in districts such as Ludhiana (24,000 acres targeted), Mohali (6,000 acres), Amritsar (4,464 acres), Jalandhar, Patiala, Bathinda, and Sangrur. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government in Punjab is looking to generate roughly Rs 20,000 to 25,000 crore from the land pooling. With state elections set to take place by March 2027, the government has roughly a year-and-a-half to rule before the model code of conduct kicks in. Forcible land acquisition is a long process susceptible to arduous legal wrangling. The government anticipates that the voluntary pooling route will cut short the time for land acquisition while simultaneously helping generate funds for the cash-strapped state, sources said. These funds, sources indicate, might be used to finance the AAP government's ambitious pre-poll promise of paying a monthly sum of Rs 1,000 to all women in the state. Experts, however, argue that the policy needlessly diverts fertile agricultural land for urban use. 'By diverting almost 40,000 acres from agriculture to cities, we will lose almost 1.50 lakh tons of paddy production. Unfortunately, in most parts, the land is fertile,' one expert told The Indian Express. Punjab BJP Chief Sunil Jakhar has called this a 'ponzi scheme,' and accused the government of exploiting farmers with false promises. SAD President Sukhbir Singh Badal has announced statewide protests against the move, calling it a 'land-grabbing scheme' designed to raise Rs 10,000 crore through bribes and benefit private developers. Critics say that the policy, based on the Punjab Regional Town Planning and Development Act, 1995, lacks the safeguards for compensation and resettlement provided under the Central Land Acquisition Act of 2013.
Indian Express
a day ago
- Business
- Indian Express
Several Mohali villages pass resolutions, say won't give land to govt
Farmers in several Mohali villages on Tuesday dealt a major blow to the Greater Mohali Area Development Authority (GMADA)'s plan to acquire 3,537 acres under the Punjab government's new land pooling policy for the expansion of Aerotropolis Phase, which includes the development of proposed sectors E to J. However, Land Acquisition Collector (LAC) Sanjeev Kumar claimed that around two dozen farmers from the region submitted written consents to give their land. 'These farmers will be brought to the notice of senior officials,' he said. Bakarpur village panch Gurpartap Singh said, 'Bari, Matran, Siau, Kurari, Patton Bakarpur, Chhat and Kishanpura villages passed resolutions in their gram sabhas, outright rejecting the new policy and refusing to give their land. The farmers not only denied discussions with the GMADA team but also did not allow any photography or videography of the meeting.' 'The panchayats of Patton, Siau, Kishanpura, Bakarpur and Kurari 'submitted formal letters of objection with signatures of sarpanchs, panchs, village heads, and other notable residents to the GMADA team,' Gurpartap Singh added. Bakarpur sarpanch Sukhwinder Singh pointed out, 'According to maps shown earlier, 175 acres along the road from the Airport road to Derri village were supposed to include commercial plots for farmers. However, no such plots were allotted, despite prior promises.' Kurari village sarpanch Nahar Singh said farmers termed the policy 'anti-farmer'. 'Farmers accused GMADA of offering residential and commercial plots of lesser value. They said GMADA is not allotting adjoining plots,' Nahar Singh added. 'We want development, but development with equality,' said farmer leader Gurminder Singh of Bakarpur.'You can't build cities and towers by uprooting those who give you their land. What kind of development is this? Government officers have permanent jobs and salaries, but farmers will be left with nothing. We don't want this kind of exploitative development.' The LAC said, 'The GMADA team will not visit villages that have already submitted written refusals.' Urging farmers to 'entirely reject' the acquisition of their land under the AAP government's land scheme, SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal on Monday announced a series of protests, beginning with Ludhiana on July 15, against the policy. Criticising Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann for 'handing over Punjab to the 'Delhi East India Company,' Badal claimed that 'small farmers would lose the most', citing unequal return of land based on ownership size and restrictions on sale, loans, or change of land use. 'We will not allow this loot to take place,' he said. Dubbing the land acquisition policy 'a land grab aimed at benefiting private developers from Delhi', Badal said the AAP government was acquiring 40,000 acres in 158 villages under the Punjab Regional Town Planning and Development Act, 1995, instead of using the central Land Acquisition Act, 2013. 'This is not a pooling scheme but a land-grabbing scheme. The AAP leadership wants to collect Rs 10,000 crore by acquiring land at minimal compensation,' he said. The SAD chief accused the Punjab government of 'working with Delhi-based developers' and claimed that 'land is being acquired on their request'. 'Meetings have been held with Delhi builders. The government plans to lease, auction, or allot land to them under Sections 43 and 56 of the Punjab Act,' Badal alleged. Badal said subsequent protests would take place across Punjab, including in Mohali, Amritsar, Jalandhar, Patiala, and other cities. The SAD chief alleged that Mann 'surrendered' the chairmanship of land authorities to the chief secretary and warned the bureaucrat 'not to become a party to this illegality'.
Hindustan Times
2 days ago
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
Sukhbir announces protests against AAP govt's ‘land pooling policy'
Chandigarh: Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president Sukhbir Singh Badal has announced a series of protests starting from Ludhiana on July 15, aimed at safeguarding the interests of farmers in Punjab. Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president Sukhbir Singh Badal has announced a series of protests starting from Ludhiana on July 15, aimed at safeguarding the interests of farmers in Punjab. Addressing a press conference here, the SAD president said 40,000 acres of land of 158 villages were being acquired under a purported land pooling scheme which was in fact a 'land-grabbing scheme'. Sukhbir accused the AAP government of attempting to acquire the land under the Punjab Regional Town Planning and Development Act, 1995. He claimed that the scheme was designed not to benefit farmers or the public but to fill the coffers of the AAP, alleging that the party aimed to raise ₹ 10,000 crore through bribes. The protests, according to Sukhbir, will take place across various cities where land is slated to be acquired, including Ludhiana (24,000 acres), Mohali (2,535 acres), Amritsar (4,464 acres), and several other districts like Patiala, Jalandhar, Bathinda and Sangrur, with a total of 40,000 acres of land affected. Sukhbir highlighted the differences between the 1995 Punjab Act and the Central Land Acquisition Act of 2013. He pointed out that the latter would require compensation to be paid at four times the collector's rate and include resettlement plans for affected farmers, while the former gives the state government more leeway in excluding land from acquisition and allowing its auction, lease, or allotment to private developers. 'This is not about development. This is about looting the land and enriching the AAP's Delhi-based leadership. The real agenda here is to help private developers, particularly those with ties to the AAP,' the SAD chief alleged. Sukhbir also criticised chief minister Bhagwant Mann for allegedly allowing the land acquisition process to be handed over to outsiders, claiming that all four members of the state's development authorities were from outside Punjab.
Hindustan Times
29-05-2025
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
Non-compliance of court order: HC orders salary attachment of three top Punjab officers
The Punjab and Haryana high court has ordered the attachment of salaries of three top Punjab officers for failure to comply with the court's directions to stall all fresh construction activities in Kharar. The officials include principal secretary, department of housing and urban development, Rahul Tewari; chief town planner, department of town and country planning, Prabhjot Singh Dhillon; and principal secretary, department of local government, Tejveer Singh. 'To the utter dismay of this court, despite the construction activity being stayed throughout the city of Kharar, no steps have been taken by the respondents towards compliance of the order passed by the writ court. Faced with this indifferent attitude of the respondents, let salaries of respondent Nos 1 to 3 remain attached till the compliance is made,' the bench of justice Harkesh Manuja ordered while posting a contempt petition hearting for September 23. Omega Infra Estates Private Limited had moved a petition alleging non-compliance of the court's October 2024 directions. It was during these proceedings that HC had restrained all fresh or new construction in Kharar until a revised master plan is finalised. The court, while passing this order, had observed that the last master plan for Kharar was published on May 25, 2010, and since then haphazard construction activity at large scale is going on in and around the entire area without taking into consideration the need for providing of basic and necessary amenities to residents. It had further noted that the process of finalisation of the revised master plan in consonance with the Punjab Regional Town Planning and Development Act, 1995, has not been undertaken. The contempt petition was filed in January after the government failed to comply with the undertaking given in October during the proceedings of a petition that demanded amendment in the Master Plan for Kharar, which was last notified in 2010. The plea had argued that the existing Master Plan, no longer reflects the ground realities and is therefore not implementable. It was disposed of as the government submitted that necessary action would be taken in eight weeks. But it was not complied with.
Indian Express
25-04-2025
- Business
- Indian Express
Under scanner for parking violations, GMADA to issue final notices to private hospitals, allotments may be cancelled
The Greater Mohali Area Development Authority (GMADA) is preparing to issue final notices to several private hospitals in Mohali for violating basement parking regulations. According to officials, these hospitals were allotted basement space specifically for parking, but instead, the areas have been repurposed for commercial activities, resulting in overcrowded streets and significant parking chaos outside hospital premises posing serious safety hazards. These notices are being issued under Section 45(3) of the Punjab Regional Town Planning and Development Act, 1995. Despite already receiving three warnings, the responses submitted by the hospitals have failed to satisfy GMADA officials. This issue was also raised by Mohali MLA Kulwant Singh during a legislative Assembly session. He pointed out that while hospitals were given permission to create basement parking, they flouted the rules by turning the space into commercial use, pushing vehicle parking onto public roads and creating severe traffic disruption. The GMADA's estate officer (housing), Shivraj Singh Bal, stated that prominent hospitals such as Fortis, Max, Ivy, Indus, Mayo, and Grecian have all been served notices. 'Though we've received varied responses from these institutions, none has been satisfactory. We are now moving towards issuing final notices. If compliance is not ensured, GMADA will initiate proceedings to cancel their allotments,' he said. Cheema Medical Complex also under scrutiny In a separate development, Cheema Medical Complex, located in Phase 4, Mohali, has also received a notice for violating building bylaws. According to GMADA's building branch, the hospital constructed a basement without having the layout map approved. It also encroached on the green belt and constructed a gate in violation of rules. Reports reveal that rooms were illegally built in the basement, the rear area was covered, and even parts of the designated parking and green space were encroached upon. The notice mandates that the unauthorised construction be removed immediately and GMADA be informed. Failure to comply will result in legal proceedings under applicable regulations. Shivraj Singh Bal also confirmed that a reminder has been sent to the District Town Planning Office to obtain zoning details of the hospital, following which further action will be determined.
