BKU condemns reintroduced land pooling policy
Members of the Bharatiya Kisan Union (Kadian) gathered in Ludhiana on Wednesday to strongly condemn the Punjab government's land pooling policy. The state cabinet has already cleared the policy, which was previously withdrawn after widespread opposition from farmers and citizens. Now reintroduced with minor modifications, the policy has drawn sharp criticism from farmer unions and political parties.
Harmeet Singh, state president of BKU (Kadian), announced that farmers would unite against the proposed policy. He said a publicity campaign will be run at the block level to educate farmers about their rights and urge them to reject the policy. The union also emphasized that the order of Akal Takht is supreme and demanded that the Diljit Dosanjh-starrer film 'Satluj', which was removed from OTT platform Zee5 on July 5, be allowed to stream again.
CPI slams AAP government over policy
The Communist Party of India's district unit also condemned the state cabinet's decision to approve the old land pooling policy with minor amendments. CPI leaders stated that the policy reflects the government's anti-farmer and anti-food security approach, and its inclination to favour real estate developers.
According to a CPI statement issued on Wednesday, the decision is anti-farmer and poses a serious threat to the country's food security. Punjab, being an agrarian state, plays a leading role in meeting the nation's food requirements. Handing over fertile agricultural land to real estate developers will adversely affect farmers' livelihoods and reduce the area under cultivation, the statement warned.
Impact on agriculture and allied sectors
The CPI highlighted that while the national average of land under cultivation is about 51 per cent, nearly 83 per cent of Punjab's land is under agriculture. The policy, they alleged, will convert fertile agricultural land into concrete structures, adversely impacting not only farming but also allied sectors.
The farmer union's meeting and the CPI's condemnation underscore the growing opposition to the land pooling policy, which many see as a threat to Punjab's agricultural backbone and food security.
