Misleading propaganda: Punjab minister Arora slams Opposition over land pooling policy

Chandigarh: Punjab Cabinet minister Aman Arora on Thursday attacked the opposition parties for allegedly spreading misleading propaganda against the state government’s land pooling policy, which he described as “farmer-friendly”.

He trashed the opposition parties’ claim that the state government wanted to “rob” farmers of their fertile land through the scheme.

Addressing the media here, Arora lashed out at the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), the BJP and the Congress for opposing the land pooling policy, alleging they are trying to mislead people for their vested interests.

“They are levelling allegations against the state government that it will grab farmers’ land...these accusations are completely baseless,” he said.

The minister said that the SAD-BJP government in the past had prepared master plans for several cities for orderly development of the areas.

The land pooling policy has been built upon the framework introduced by the then SAD-BJP government, he said.

“Under these master plans, the same place, which we have notified for development, had been declared residential zones by the then government,” Arora said. “When they were in power, they did something else, and now when they are in opposition, their stand is completely different,” he added.

The minister accused the previous governments of patronising developers for setting up illegal colonies over around 20,000 acres in the state, causing hardship for buyers in the absence of basic civic amenities including sewage system, streetlights and other facilities.

“Mohali area has seen significant development. From 2009 to 2021, the Congress and Akali Dal-BJP governments had acquired 3,735 acres of land in Mohali. If Mohali deserves planned development and ultra-modern facilities, why not the rest of Punjab? Why not Hoshiarpur, Tarn Taran or Ferozepur,” Arora asked. Calling the AAP government’s land pooling policy “farmer-friendly” and “development oriented”, he said the state government is asking the landowners to join hands for planned development.

The policy would promote organised and planned development, besides benefiting all sections of society including landowners, he claimed.

Farmers can also develop the land on their own, he added.

There is no bar on sale and purchase of land and farming activity, he said, adding that farmers will get Rs 50,000 per acre after they join the scheme.

When the government takes possession of the land, a land owner will get Rs 1 lakh per acre, he further said while highlighting the features of

the policy.