SAD opposes ‘forcible’ acquisition of land

Our Correspondent

Ludhiana, August 2

Former minister and leader of SAD legislature party Sharanjit Singh Dhillon today come out in support of land owners of Sekhowal village who were allegedly being forced to part with their land for an industrial park. Interacting with the affected land owners and farmers, he said the party and its president Sukhbir Singh Badal would stand by the farmers and would not let the Congress government get away with highhandedness.

‘Will raise issue in Vidhan Sabha’

The Akali Dal leader further said he would raise this matter in the Punjab Vidhan Sabha and make sure that the policy of forcibly snatching of land from farmers was put to an end once for all.

After a visit to Sekhowal, Dhillon spoke at length about the alleged misconduct of the Congress government and the bureaucracy with the elected woman sarpanch of the village. Dhillon, who is also the legislator from Sahnewal segment, firmly stated that the SAD would not let the people of Sekhowal suffer at the hands of the Congress government while asserting that he would stand by the people of his constituency.

The Akali Dal leader further said he would raise this matter in the Punjab Vidhan Sabha and make sure that the policy of forcibly snatching of land from farmers was put to an end once for all. “During the previous SAD-BJP government, the cycle valley project at Dhanasu village was initiated with full consent and support of the people and the village panchayat. A lot of employment opportunities have come the way of the village population, and we want a similar policy to be adopted for the upcoming industrial park at Mattewara,” he reiterated.

Speaking on the Mattewara Industrial Park, former sarpanch of Sekhowal Dhir Singh said the village had 407 acres of panchayat land which the Congress government was trying to get hold of forcefully. He said the people of Sekhowal village had fought a legal battle for 36 years for this land and this was their only source of livelihood. “The village population will fight till their last breath to retain their landholding to secure their source of livelihood,” he added.