As protests over the Punjab government’s decision to develop an industrial estate over 1,320 acres of land of the Bathinda thermal plant continues, questions have been raised by its employees over the ‘land pooling policy’, which has been applied in this case.
This policy was framed in 2013 by the state housing and urban development department, under which 80 per cent of the share of land sale will go to the Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL), and the remaining 20 per cent to the Punjab Urban Development Authority (PUDA). Employees have asked why such a policy was needed and why should PUDA be given 20 per cent share.
