E-Paper
Warring seeks Centre’s intervention on land pooling policy
Warring, referring to the Land Acquisition Act passed during the UPA regime under former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, alleged that the Bhagwant Mann-led government was attempting to forcibly take over nearly 50,000 acres of farmland without landowners’ consent and any meaningful ‘compensation’.
Raising the contentious land pooling policy in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday, Punjab Congress president and Ludhiana MP Amarinder Singh Raja Warring urged the central government to intervene and protect Punjab’s farmers from what he termed as a ‘coercive and unjust’ land acquisition drive by the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government.
Warring, referring to the Land Acquisition Act passed during the UPA regime under former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, alleged that the Bhagwant Mann-led government was attempting to forcibly take over nearly 50,000 acres of farmland without landowners’ consent and any meaningful ‘compensation’.
Warring said that under the policy, farmers will receive only one-fourth of the land, with no financial or rehabilitation support.
“The government is threatening farmers that they will never be able to get change of land use (CLU) clearance in the future if they do not participate in the scheme,” he said.
Ever since the announcement, there has been a backlash from farmer unions and Opposition parties against the land pooling policy. While the farm unions have dubbed it a ‘looting scheme to usurp fertile land’, the Congress, Shirmomani Akali Dal and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) have termed the move “anti-peasantry and impractical”.
The state government plans to acquire 65,533 acres of land across 21 cities and towns in the state to develop both industrial and residential zones. It is being dubbed as the largest acquisition of land by the government in the state since 1966. However, only 115 land owners – 15 from Ludhiana and nearly 100 from Mohali --- have come forward to adopt the scheme since its launch on June 2. The policy is open till September 30.
Warring cautioned that widespread agitation could erupt if the policy was not reconsidered and farmers’ rights were not safeguarded. He urged the Centre to take cognisance and halt the policy’s implementation until it passes legal and ethical scrutiny.
Leader of Opposition in Punjab assembly, Partap Singh Bajwa, also condemned the policy, labelling it as ‘exploitative and misleading’.
“Transferring existing debt from pooled land onto the newly allotted plots was an injustice to farmers, Bajwa said, dismissing CM Mann’s claims that farmers could get loans against the letter of intent (LOI), clarifying that an LOI holds no legal title or ownership, making it ineligible for banks.
