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Farmers hold meeting against land pooling scheme; Congress MLAs join in
Opposing the move, Rajat Bhanot, sarpanch of Bulla Rai village in Phagwara tehsil, said, “The government is hell-bent on taking our cultivable lands by destroying our livelihoods, traditions, and environment.”
The affected farmers from six villages of Jalandhar, Phagwara and Kapurthala gathered at a gurdwara in Jalandhar’s Kukkad village to register protest against the state government’s land pooling scheme on Sunday.
Congress legislators from Jalandhar Cantonment Pargat Singh and Shahkot MLA Hardev Singh Laddi Sherowalia also joined them.
Jagraj Singh, sarpanch of Kukkad village, said their struggle against this “anti-farmer” scheme will continue till the government revokes the policy.
“No force can take away the land of Jalandhar. We are ready to fight this on every front,” he said.
The panchayats of affected villages decided to mobilise people against the government move.
Opposing the move, Rajat Bhanot, sarpanch of Bulla Rai village in Phagwara tehsil, said, “The government is hell-bent on taking our cultivable lands by destroying our livelihoods, traditions, and environment.”
Addressing the gathering, Pargat called upon the villagers to convene gam sabhas and pass resolutions opposing the policy. “Under the law, 70% consent is needed for land pooling, but only 20% signatures are needed to oppose it and farmers must use their legal rights,” he said.
Pargat claimed that the strong opposition is brewing against the Punjab government’s land pooling policy, with farmers from across political lines joining forces to fight what they describe as a blatant attempt to transfer their lands to large corporate houses.
“If necessary, farmers would approach the Supreme Court to halt this,” he said, adding, “The Aam Aadmi Party government, under directions from Delhi, has prepared a plan to hand over 50,000 acres of land to corporate houses”.
“Farmers are being kept in the dark as this policy is being implemented without consent or adequate information,” alleged Pargat. He demanded that Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann should hold an open and transparent discussion on this issue during the upcoming special session of the Punjab Vidhan Sabha on July 10–11.
Pargat said, “There was no environmental assessment, social impact assessment, or fair compensation mechanism. The policy lacks basic due diligence and violates the principle of consent. Once land is taken, an entire village’s social and economic fabric is destroyed.”
The policy targets 1,000 acres in Jalandhar, with large tracts also identified in Ludhiana (23,000 acres), Mohali (3,500 acres), Pathankot (1,000 acres), Patiala (1,100 acres), Bathinda (900 acres), Sangrur (600 acres), Moga (500 acres), Nawanshahr (400 acres), Ferozepur and Barnala (300 acres each), Hoshiarpur (550 acres), Kapurthala (150 acres), Nakodar (200 acres), Gurdaspur (80 acres), Tarn Taran (97 acres), and Sultanpur Lodhi (70 acres).
“The AAP government is working as the B-team of the BJP. What even the BJP couldn’t do, AAP is implementing now,” he said.
Meanwhile, Congress district president (rural) and MLA from Shahkot Hardev Singh Ladi Sherowalia said this is not merely a policy, “it is an assault on Punjab’s villages, culture, and future”.
“Land is being snatched in the name of development. We will fight this battle unitedly – legally, socially, and politically,” he said.
