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Ludhiana: Machhiwara panchayat orders eviction of tenants by Oct 15
The panchayat said only those with a Punjab Aadhaar card be allowed to rent houses or shops in the village, effectively excluding tenants from other states, regardless of their legal rights
The panchayat of Katani Kalan village in Machhiwara has directed residents to get their premises evicted from tenants whose Aadhaar cards don’t mention Punjab residence by October 15. The gram sabha meeting was led by sarpanch Manjit Singh in the wake of the recent murder of a five-year-old boy in Hoshiarpur.
The panchayat said only those with a Punjab Aadhaar card be allowed to rent houses or shops in the village, effectively excluding tenants from other states, regardless of their legal rights. “This is a blatant attempt to single out migrant communities,” said one resident, requesting anonymity. Critics argue that such resolutions could fuel social divisions and violate constitutional protections for citizens and residents.
The panchayat also issued warnings to drug peddlers, threatened to forcibly remove anyone committing a serious crime and imposed a ban on plastic bags, penalising shopkeepers with fines of ₹5,000 for violations. The panchayat also passed a resolution stating that even permanent residents—whether Punjabi or of migrant background—will be forced to leave the village if they commit a serious crime.
In another resolution, the panchayat stated that any youth marrying a girl from the same village will face a complete social boycott. Sarpanch Manjit Singh justified the panchayat’s move, claiming that intra-village marriages “set a bad example for children”.
Notably, a migrant worker kidnapped and murdered a five-year-old boy in Hoshiarpur on September 9. The incident triggered a tirade against migrant workers coming to Punjab to earn their livelihood. Over 20 village panchayats in Hoshiarpur have already stated that they have decided to stop attesting the documents of migrant labourers in their respective areas.
