MLA Dhaliwal slams AAP’s land pooling policy as ‘anti-farmer’

Congress MLA from Phagwara, Balwinder Singh Dhaliwal, has called for the immediate revocation of the Punjab government’s controversial new land pooling policy, calling it a betrayal of small and marginal farmers while benefiting private builders.

Speaking at a press conference today, Dhaliwal criticised the Bhagwant Mann-led Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government, accusing it of crafting the policy without consulting farmers and favouring corporate interests.

Dhaliwal contended that the policy severely cuts the compensation given to landowners, reducing the return from the earlier provision of a 200 square yard residential plot per kanal—or a combination of 125 square yards residential and 25 square yards commercial—to just a 150 square yard residential plot. According to him, this 50 square yard reduction per kanal amounts to a financial loss of nearly Rs 30 lakh at current GMADA rates, with actual market values leading to even greater losses. He warned that small landholders, especially those owning between one and three kanals, would bear the brunt of this policy.

Labelling the policy a deliberate ploy to benefit builders, Dhaliwal alleged that it not only diminishes the return for farmers to 33 per cent but also permits large developers to claim up to 60 per cent of the land after development. He questioned the fairness of such a disparity, accusing the AAP government of misleading the public by portraying the policy as pro-farmer. “This is not merely a policy change—it’s a calculated move to dispossess small landowners while rewarding powerful builders and land mafias,” he asserted.

Further raising concerns about the policy’s procedural elements, Dhaliwal criticised the clause requiring land registry before any compensation is paid or even a letter of intent is issued. “Why should the farmer be forced to give up ownership before any guarantee of return? What if the government fails to meet its commitments? This is an open invitation to exploitation,” he remarked.

He also questioned the clause that mandates a minimum of 50 acres for project eligibility, arguing that no ordinary farmer in urban expansion zones holds such large contiguous land parcels. According to Dhaliwal, this stipulation is designed for large developers who already control extensive tracts of land. He highlighted that the financial burden of this model—where the government, rather than the builders, undertakes development using public funds—could result in a loss of Rs 324 crore for every 50-acre project.

The Congress MLA demanded the immediate scrapping of the new policy and the reinstatement of the previous, more equitable and transparent land pooling scheme. He warned that if the government fails to act, the Congress Party would stand with Punjab’s farmers in launching legal and public protests to resist what he described as “a systematic attempt to transfer wealth from rural landowners to urban developers.”

Jalandhar