HC Grants Interim Stay on Punjab's Land Pooling Policy; Govt to Respond in 4 Weeks

Chandigarh (The Uttam Hindu): The Punjab and Haryana High Court heard the case on the land pooling policy of the Punjab government for the second consecutive day on Thursday. During the hearing today, the court has put a stay on the policy. The Punjab government has been asked to file a reply in 4 weeks. The court orders will be issued soon. After the hearing, the petitioner's lawyer Gurjeet Singh said that the court has put an interim stay on the land pooling policy. Talking to reporters, he said that four weeks have been given to file a reply. The lawyer said that neither any social impact assessment nor any environmental assessment was done under the land pooling policy.

Ludhiana-based petitioner Gill had on June 24 sought directions to quash the state government's notification. On August 6, the court asked the Punjab government whether the policy had any provision for rehabilitation of landless labourers. The state was also directed to tell the court whether a social impact assessment was carried out before notifying the land pooling policy.