CHANDIGARH: On Wednesday, the Punjab advocate general informed the Punjab and Haryana High Court that the land pooling policy would be paused, with no further actions anticipated before the next hearing scheduled for Thursday.
This announcement was made in response to a petition filed by Gurdeep Singh Gill, contesting the Punjab government’s land pooling scheme.
The court has set Thursday, August 7, as the date for the next hearing.
During Wednesday’s proceedings, the court queried whether the policy included provisions for rehabilitating landless laborers.
The state has also been instructed to clarify if an assessment of the social impacts was conducted prior to the policy’s announcement.
Justices Anupinder Singh Grewal and Deepak Manchanda noted, “The advocate general must also confirm if an environmental impact assessment was done before this policy was enacted.”
The court reiterated the Supreme Court’s directive in the case of ‘Resident’s Welfare Association vs. Union Territory of Chandigarh (2023)’, stressing the need for an environmental impact assessment prior to urban development approvals.
The bench further remarked, “The advocate general must clarify whether the policy accommodates rehabilitation for landless laborers and others reliant on land for their livelihoods.”
The AG affirmed that no further steps on the policy would occur until the next court date.
Petitioner Gill, based in Ludhiana, is seeking to annul the state government’s notification from June 24 regarding the land pooling policy 2025, claiming it violates fundamental rights and is ultra vires.
He argued that while the policy is presented under the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013, it lacks legal grounds to be established since the only valid framework for such policy is the Punjab Regional and Town Planning and Development Act, 1995.
Gill’s petition contended, “No social impact assessment report was created or made public, as mandated by law. Furthermore, none of the gram panchayats or gram sabhas were consulted prior to implementing the land pooling policy, disregarding the legal requirements set forth in the 2013 Act.”
“Without a legal basis in the 2013 Act to develop the land pooling policy, there is no mechanism to contest it, leaving the petitioner without recourse to address his concerns,” the petition concluded.
The AAP government faces criticism from opposition parties and various farmer organizations, labeling the land pooling initiative a “looting” scheme aimed at seizing farmers’ productive land.
In response, AAP has accused opposition parties of spreading “misleading propaganda,” asserting the policy is beneficial for farmers.
The Punjab Cabinet approved the land pooling policy in June, assuring that no land would be forcibly taken from owners.
Under this policy, landowners are to receive a residential plot of 1,000 square yards and a commercial plot of 200 square yards in developed land in exchange for one acre of their land, as stated by the government.
