Chandigarh, July 19 -- Amid strong opposition from farmer bodies and rival political parties in the state, the Punjab government on Friday defended its land pooling policy, stating that this scheme is farmer-friendly and based on mutual consent. Finance and taxation minister Harpal Singh Cheema said that under the land pooling policy, not a single inch of land would be forcibly taken from any farmer. "As per the provisions of the policy, the farmers will decide whether or not to give their land," he said at a press conference here, accusing the Opposition, Congress, Bharatiya Janata Party, and Shiromani Akali Dal of attempting to create a false narrative in the state. The Punjab cabinet, on June 2, approved the land pooling policy for the acquisition of land for housing and related projects aimed at promoting planned urban development. The state government initially planned to roll out the policy in 27 cities and towns, including Ludhiana, Mohali, Jalandhar, Amritsar, and Patiala, to acquire an estimated 40,000 acres of land. However, the policy is facing opposition from farmer organisations and opposition parties, who allege that the state government's move to acquire land on such a large scale for urbanisation would displace thousands of farmers from their "cultivable and fertile land." In Ludhiana, where the Greater Ludhiana Area Development Authority (GLADA) is looking to acquire 24,000 acres under the policy, over 1,600 villagers have filed their objections till Wednesday (i.e. June 16). Similar is the case with the Greater Mohali Area Development Authority (GMADA), where only 15 out of 8,000 landowners come forward with consent. GMADA plans to acquire 2,600 acres across Mohali - 236 acres in Sector 87 for commercial use, 313 acres in Sector 84 for institutional development, 321 acres in Sectors 101 and 103 for industrial projects, and 1,800 acres in Sectors 120 to 125 along the PR-7 road for residential development Countering Opposition objections, Cheema said that during the previous governments, in the past decade-and-a-half, thousands of illegal colonies were developed in Punjab, where even basic facilities like roads, electricity, water, and sewerage were absent, and lakhs of people faced difficulties regarding property registrations. The AAP leader alleged that in the last 10 years, with the collusion of senior leaders of the Akali-BJP and Congress governments, land mafias illegally developed colonies on approximately 30,000 acres of land across various cities in Punjab, committing scams and fraud worth billions. "The direct beneficiaries of these scams were land mafias, builders, and the ministers and MLAs of previous governments, while common people were deprived of even basic facilities. For all of this, the Akali-BJP alliance and the Congress governments are directly responsible," he charged. Cheema said that keeping in mind the hardships faced by common people, the AAP government decided to acquire land itself through a land pooling policy. "This will benefit both farmers and the common people. Farmers will receive 1000 square yards of residential land and 200 square yards of commercial plots per acre, whose value in the next few years will be approximately four times higher than current market rates," he argued. The AAP leader further stated that at the same time, common people would get housing with better and modern facilities, as the government would ensure the construction of roads, sewerage, electricity, water, and public parks in these areas, and full compliance with housing laws would be maintained so that people do not face any problems in the future. "Farmers will receive another major benefit from this scheme: when the government acquires land, they will not only get financial benefits but also social security. All farmers whose land is acquired under this scheme will be given an assistance amount of Rs.50,000 per acre per year for at least three years or until the land is developed," he added....