AAP’s land acquisition proposal draws flak

The AAP-led government in the state has announced to acquire about 24,000 acres of land, majority of which belongs to farmers in the district, for ‘urbanisation’. The proposal came as a big shock as till date no huge chunk of land like this was acquired by any government and repercussions of the same will be “drastic” and it would be a betrayal with the farming community, who are feeding lakhs, say leaders belonging to various political parties.

A rough data collected by one of the former Chief Agriculture Officers of Ludhiana Sukhpal Singh Sekhon reveals that about 24,000 acres will be acquired, causing an approximate revenue loss to the farmers to the tune of Rs 346 crore per year.

Secondly, a labourer working with a farmer at an average salary of approximately Rs 15,000-20,000 would leave the state. A total of almost 3,000 such labourers from Bihar and Uttar Pradesh would be left in the lurch as they would end up leaving Punjab, said Sekhon, adding that as per a rough estimate, there were about 40 villages, having over have 16,000 houses and the population which will be affected will be around 60,000 in these villages.

Kuldeep Singh Khalsa from Issewal village said the land acquisition dream of the AAP government would ruin farmers. He said dairy farmers, dairy shops, vegetable vendors, tractor manufactuers, combine operators, commission agents and seed shops, everything was interlinked. If farmers are asked to move, it would have serious impact on everyone, there would be no supply, no work.

Meanwhile, SAD president Sukhbir Badal has already announced to protest against the move on May 29 outside the GLADA office here. Villagers feel that it clearly indicates that if any farmer would disagree on the same, his land will be aquired using Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013, and he cannot do anything.

At the same time, Sanjeev Arora, AAP candidate for the Ludhiana West bypoll, said the matter was being twisted to get political mileage. “The government is not going to adopt any forceful measure to acquire the land without consent of farmers,” he said.

Aam Aadmi Party’s move direct assault on people: BJP

Bharatiya Janta Party, Punjab, General Secretary, Parminder Singh Brar, on Friday launched a scathing attack on the Bhagwant Mann-led Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government, calling its move a direct assault on the people of the state.

Addressing the media, Brar exposed the “shocking” plan of the state government to grab over 24,000 acres of fertile land near Ludhiana, a move that will impact farming families, some of whom have been tilling the land for generations.

“It is not just a land grab but a livelihood theft. If this happens, it will be the last nail in the coffin of AAP’s state government,” Brar added.

Ludhiana