Chandigarh (Punjab) [India], August 12 : Shiromani Akali Dal senior leader Sukhbir Singh Badal has termed the decision of the Bhagwant Mann-led AAP government to scrap the land pooling policy as a "Victory for all Punjabis".
He thanked all Akali workers, farmers, labourers, shopkeepers and every section of society for lending support to the party against this scheme.
In a statement released on Monday, the former Punjab Deputy CM said that he salutes the brave Akali workers, farmers, labourers and shop keepers who rose as one and forced Arvind Kejriwal to withdraw the land pooling scheme which was in effect a land grab whereby the Aam Aadmi Party sought to collect Rs 30,000 crore from builders of Delhi to expand the party across the country.
He said that he want to assure Punjabis that just as we have forced AAP government of Punjab to withdraw the land pooling scheme by leading a grass root agitation in which lakhs of people participated, we will hold the corrupt & scam ridden AAP govt to task for bankrupting Punjab, giving jobs to outsiders, destroying law and order & emboldening gangsters.
He appealed to Punjabis to unite under the Shiromani Akali Dal to put Punjab back on the rails and ensure a better future for our coming generations.
He also said that SAD is proud of this victory of Punjabis, as we led the relentless fight from the front. He said that he was grateful to all hard-working and self-sacrificing workers of the party for their massive, forceful and enthusiastic participation in the fight against the grabbing of Punjabis' priceless land.
On Monday, the Punjab government officially announced the withdrawal of its controversial land pooling policy, following a temporary stay by the Punjab and Haryana High Court and mounting public opposition.
The High Court had given the government four weeks to rectify the shortcomings in the scheme, but the decision to withdraw the policy was made before the deadline.
The Punjab and Haryana High Court had earlier stayed the land pooling policy, citing several shortcomings and irregularities in its implementation. The court had also highlighted the lack of transparency and consultation with stakeholders, leading to widespread public outcry.
The Punjab and Haryana High Court has spelt out why it stayed the Punjab government's Land Pooling Policy, 2025, in its order passed on August 7.
The Bench of Justice Anupinder Singh Grewal and Justice Deepak Manchanda listed a series of legal and procedural shortcomings -- from the absence of environmental and social impact studies to the lack of timelines, grievance redressal and budgetary clarity.
It is worth mentioning that even today, the land pooling scheme is opposed by farmers. The court had said in its order that the policy lacks mandatory social and environmental impact assessment, there is no provision for resettlement of landless workers and other affected sections, no grievance redressal mechanism has been created, and no time frame or budget has been clarified.
In the past few weeks, tractor marches, door-to-door campaigns and demonstrations were held by farmers' unions, opposition parties and local people in protest against the policy.