Punjab: SAD to protest against AAP govt's land pooling policy from Sep 1

Chandigarh, Aug 7 (PTI) SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal on Thursday slammed the AAP government over its land pooling policy, calling it a "land-grabbing" scheme and said his party will start a protest against the Bhagwant Mann dispensation from September 1 in Mohali till the policy is withdrawn.

He was addressing the media here after holding a party meeting to intensify its agitation against the land pooling policy.

The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) chief said his party will not allow the acquisition of even one inch of land by the state government under the land pooling scheme.

Badal alleged that AAP convener Arvind Kejriwal had done an "underhand deal" with Delhi builders to "hand over" farmers' land to them.

"The AAP government and Kejriwal attacked farmers and the poor in Punjab. They want to raise money for the party by looting Punjab," Badal alleged while targeting the Mann government over the land pooling policy.

"Land grabbing is the biggest attack against farmers in Punjab. The AAP leaders have done a deal of Rs 30,000 crore to give farmers' land to builders," he alleged.

The SAD will not allow "grabbing" of an inch of land from the farmers under the land pooling scheme, said Badal.

He demanded that the state government immediately withdraw the land pooling scheme.

As part of his party's plans to intensify its agitation against the policy, Badal said the SAD will begin a protest against the AAP government from September 1 in Mohali and it will continue until this scheme is rolled back.

The AAP government has been facing flak from the opposition parties and various farmer bodies, which dubbed its land pooling policy a "looting" scheme to "rob" the farmers of their fertile land.

The ruling AAP has hit out at the opposition parties alleging that they are spreading misleading propaganda against the state government's land pooling policy, with party leaders describing it as "farmer-friendly".

The Punjab cabinet in June gave its nod to the land pooling policy and asserted that not a single yard will be forcibly acquired from land owners.

Under the land pooling policy, an owner will be given a 1,000 square yards of residential plot and a 200 square yards of commercial plot in fully developed land in lieu of one acre of land, according to the state government. PTI CHS KSS KSS