Mann Government’s Land Pooling Scheme is a Threat to Land Mafia Only: AAP Minister

Ludhiana, May 28, 2025: Cabinet Minister Tarunpreet Singh Sondh launched a scathing attack on Shiromani Akali Dal President Sukhbir Badal over the Land Pooling Scheme. Sondh remarked that Badal’s statements made in Ludhiana today were baseless and lacked substance, clearly reflecting his political and financial interests.

Addressing a press conference in Ludhiana West, Minister Sondh stated that Sukhbir Badal has once again tried to mislead the people of Punjab. His statements are entirely false and deceptive. 

Sondh said that the Land Pooling Scheme introduced by the Mann government poses no threat to farmers. The minister clarified that under the scheme, no farmer will be forced to give up their land. Farmers can voluntarily include their land in the pool. The government will then develop roads, install streetlights, set up sewage treatment plants, and build essential infrastructure in the pooled land areas.

Rebutting Badal’s claims, Sondh emphasized that the scheme is designed to benefit farmers. Farmers who choose to participate will receive 1,000 square yards of residential and 200 square yards of commercial plots per acre. These plots are expected to appreciate at least fivefold in value over the next four to five years, providing significant financial benefits to the farmers.

Sondh criticized Sukhbir Badal and said the Akali-BJP government’s tenure caused immense suffering to the people. In contrast, the AAP government under Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann is taking stringent actions to eradicate drugs, corruption, and crime from Punjab.

Highlighting Badal’s double standards, Sondh said, "Today, Badal talks about farmers, but when the three black farm laws were introduced, he supported them. It was only after immense public pressure that he took a U-turn." He further questioned Badal’s wife, Harsimrat Kaur Badal, about how many food processing projects she brought to Punjab during her tenure as Union Food Processing Minister. Sondh noted that food processing units could have genuinely uplifted farmers, but the Badals did nothing and instead shed crocodile tears over farmers' issues.

Sondh also called out Sukhbir Badal on the Sutlej-Yamuna Link (SYL) canal issue, accusing him of compromising Punjab’s interests for personal economic gains. He criticized Badal’s immature statements, accusing him of ignoring Akal Takht Sahib’s orders, disregarding the Jathedars, and treating the Panth as his puppet. Sondh concluded that Sukhbir Badal has no moral authority to speak on Punjab’s issues.