The Punjab government intends to acquire 2,000-3,000 acres of land spread across 26 locations in 13 cities of the state under the new land purchase policy of the state. The new policy ensures acquisition and purchase of land on the basis of willingness of the land owner or the farmers for selling their land. Further, the new policy provides acquisition of land through tenders and bids at a price fixed by the landowner himself for his land.
As far as funding is concerned, it would be through internal accruals and loans from financial institutions. According to Punjab Urban Planning & Development Board (PUDA) officials, the new policy is not only farmer friendly but will also speed up the process of acquisition of land, boosting the pace of development in the state. They are also of the view that the policy will eliminate the scope for litigation and save both farmers as well as the government from wasting their time and money in various courts of law.
Inspite of high compensation, many of the farmers are not willing to part with their land and it has become a stumbling block for the upcoming projects being set up by the state government and the private players. Experts feel that the new policy will eliminate certain bottlenecks.
It is worth mentioning that the Land Purchase Policy (LPP) is the third instrument devised by the government after Punjab Land Acquisition Act 1894 and Land Pooling Scheme (LPS) for acquisition of land. The Land Management Manual, paragraph 465 provides for acquisition of land from the open market. The land acquired would be exempted from the stamp duty.
Earlier, the farmers, land owners at Hoshiarpur, Jalandhar, Tanda, Phagwara and other cities having land around or close to the given locations have met senior officers of PUDA and shown keen interest to offer their land under the New Land Purchase Policy. The tenders floated by Jalandhar, Amritsar and Patiala Development Authorities for the above locations are scheduled to be opened on November 29, December 3 and December 6, respectively. Besides, Greater Ludhiana Area Development Authority (GLADA) has already received tenders for purchase of land at four locations i.e. Ferozepur Road, Pakowal Road, Jalandhar Road and Chandigarh Road, Ludhiana. The tenders have been opened and are being processed by GLADA for finalisation and submission of the same to the Cabinet Sub Committee for its approval.
In order to facilitate the process, the Preliminary Committee constituting Deputy Commissioner, Chief Administrator, Additional Chief Administrator, Land Acquisition Collector, District Town Planner and Estate Officer would be constituted by each of the Urban Development Authorities seeking acquisition of land. The Committee would broadly identify the use of land being acquired keeping in view the master plan of the area concerned where the land is sought to be acquired.
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