02-07-2025
Several Mohali villages pass resolutions, say won't give land to govt
Farmers in several Mohali villages on Tuesday dealt a major blow to the Greater Mohali Area Development Authority (GMADA)'s plan to acquire 3,537 acres under the Punjab government's new land pooling policy for the expansion of Aerotropolis Phase, which includes the development of proposed sectors E to J.
However, Land Acquisition Collector (LAC) Sanjeev Kumar claimed that around two dozen farmers from the region submitted written consents to give their land. 'These farmers will be brought to the notice of senior officials,' he said.
Bakarpur village panch Gurpartap Singh said, 'Bari, Matran, Siau, Kurari, Patton Bakarpur, Chhat and Kishanpura villages passed resolutions in their gram sabhas, outright rejecting the new policy and refusing to give their land. The farmers not only denied discussions with the GMADA team but also did not allow any photography or videography of the meeting.'
'The panchayats of Patton, Siau, Kishanpura, Bakarpur and Kurari 'submitted formal letters of objection with signatures of sarpanchs, panchs, village heads, and other notable residents to the GMADA team,' Gurpartap Singh added.
Bakarpur sarpanch Sukhwinder Singh pointed out, 'According to maps shown earlier, 175 acres along the road from the Airport road to Derri village were supposed to include commercial plots for farmers. However, no such plots were allotted, despite prior promises.'
Kurari village sarpanch Nahar Singh said farmers termed the policy 'anti-farmer'. 'Farmers accused GMADA of offering residential and commercial plots of lesser value. They said GMADA is not allotting adjoining plots,' Nahar Singh added.
'We want development, but development with equality,' said farmer leader Gurminder Singh of Bakarpur.'You can't build cities and towers by uprooting those who give you their land. What kind of development is this? Government officers have permanent jobs and salaries, but farmers will be left with nothing. We don't want this kind of exploitative development.'
The LAC said, 'The GMADA team will not visit villages that have already submitted written refusals.'
Urging farmers to 'entirely reject' the acquisition of their land under the AAP government's land scheme, SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal on Monday announced a series of protests, beginning with Ludhiana on July 15, against the policy.
Criticising Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann for 'handing over Punjab to the 'Delhi East India Company,' Badal claimed that 'small farmers would lose the most', citing unequal return of land based on ownership size and restrictions on sale, loans, or change of land use. 'We will not allow this loot to take place,' he said.
Dubbing the land acquisition policy 'a land grab aimed at benefiting private developers from Delhi', Badal said the AAP government was acquiring 40,000 acres in 158 villages under the Punjab Regional Town Planning and Development Act, 1995, instead of using the central Land Acquisition Act, 2013.
'This is not a pooling scheme but a land-grabbing scheme. The AAP leadership wants to collect Rs 10,000 crore by acquiring land at minimal compensation,' he said.
The SAD chief accused the Punjab government of 'working with Delhi-based developers' and claimed that 'land is being acquired on their request'.
'Meetings have been held with Delhi builders. The government plans to lease, auction, or allot land to them under Sections 43 and 56 of the Punjab Act,' Badal alleged.
Badal said subsequent protests would take place across Punjab, including in Mohali, Amritsar, Jalandhar, Patiala, and other cities.
The SAD chief alleged that Mann 'surrendered' the chairmanship of land authorities to the chief secretary and warned the bureaucrat 'not to become a party to this illegality'.
