Moga, August 4: The controversy over the land pooling policy in Punjab is deepening continuously. Farmer organizations are protesting against this policy across the state and protests are going on at many places. Farmers say that this policy is a threat to their land and employment. Seeing the protest of the farmers, this issue has now gained momentum in political circles as well.
In Moga, former district president of Aam Aadmi Party and chairman of District Planning Board Harmanjit Singh Brar Didare Wala has resigned from his post in protest against the land pooling policy. Brar wrote on his Facebook account that I oppose this policy. Being a farmer, I stand with the farmers and appeal to the government to reconsider this issue. Brar’s resignation has further fuelled the land pooling controversy.
What is the land pooling issue, read here
In fact, under the new land pooling policy of the Punjab government, there is a plan to pool the land of farmers for development projects and give them developed plots in return. But farmers’ organizations allege that this policy is a conspiracy to evict them from their fertile lands and promote real estate projects.
Farmer unions are continuously staging dharnas in various districts of Punjab and demanding the government to withdraw this policy immediately. The open opposition of AAP leaders like Brar indicates that political pressure on the government is also increasing regarding the land pooling policy.