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Punjab Farmers and Opposition Unite in Mass Protest, Threaten Supreme Court Challenge Over Land Pooling Policy

Protesters claim the state sidelined environmental safeguards before mobilizing gram sabhas ahead of July’s assembly session.

The affected farmers from six villages of Jalandhar, Phagwara and Kapurthala gathered at a gurdwara in Jalandhar’s Kukkad village to register protest against the state government’s land pooling scheme on Sunday. Congress legislators from Jalandhar Cantonment Pargat Singh and Shahkot MLA Hardev Singh Laddi Sherowalia also joined them. (HT Photo)
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Punjab Congress president Amarinder Singh Raja Warring added that while land acquisition has existed since British times, it was the Congress-led UPA government under Dr Manmohan Singh that brought a transformative law requiring 80% consent from landowners before any acquisition. (HT Photo)

Overview

  • Farmers from six villages in Jalandhar, Phagwara and Kapurthala gathered at a gurdwara in Kukkad village on July 7 to reject the state’s voluntary land pooling policy.
  • Congress MLAs Pargat Singh and Hardev Singh Laddi Sherowalia joined the demonstration and condemned the scheme as an assault on rural livelihoods and village culture.
  • Protesters say the policy lacks environmental and social impact assessments, violates consent rules, prompting a planned Supreme Court petition.
  • Local leaders are convening gram sabhas to pass resolutions against the policy and preparing legal challenges to seek its revocation.
  • Opposition parties and farmer unions are preparing for legislative debates on July 10–11 and a gherao of the GLADA office on July 14 to escalate their campaign.