Bowing to sustained pressure from farmers who had been agitating for three weeks outside the GMADA headquarters in Mohali, the Punjab Government has decided to further enhance benefits and extend major new concessions under its Land Pooling Policy. The move has, on Tuesday, ended the Pucca Morcha — the indefinite dharna and chain hunger strike had been underway outside the gates of the authority in Mohali.An in-principle decision to enhance the benefits was taken at a high-level meeting held in Chandigarh recently, attended by senior government officials and representatives of the protesting farmers and village sarpanches. A formal notification is being issued to give legal effect to the enhanced benefits and concessions, a senior government functionary told The Tribune on Wednesday.The most significant enhancement under the revised policy covers the core plot entitlement. For every acre of land surrendered in the mixed use/general category, the commercial plot allotment has been increased from 200 square yards to 210 square yards, while the residential entitlement of 1,000 sq yd per acre remains unchanged. For the residential category, the allotment has been raised from 1,600 square yards to 1,630 square yards per acre. Both enhancements are applicable on holdings of one acre and above.In a major new benefit, oustee quota certificates will now be issued to all farmers, with plots allotted at scheme price. Under the oustee category, farmers with up to half an acre will receive a 200 sq yd plot, those with half to 2.5 acres will get a 300 sq yd plot at scheme price, and those with above 2.5 acres will be entitled to a 500 sq yd plot.The validity of the Sahuliyat Certificate — the facilitation certificate that gives farmers stamp duty exemption when they use compensation proceeds to purchase alternative land in Punjab — has been extended from two years to four years, reckoned from either the date of payment of the award amount or the date of issuance of the Letter of Intent, whichever is applicable. The window to avail priority tubewell connections has also been extended from two to four years in line with the revised Sahuliyat Certificate validity. Additionally, the concerned department has been mandated to ensure installation of tubewell connections within two months of an application submitted with the Sahuliyat Certificate.In another significant concession, the conveyance deed for original landowners — and not transferees of Letters of Intent — will be executed free of cost. All plots, including preferential location plots that were earlier being retained by GMADA, will now be included in the draw of lots, ensuring equal opportunity for all farmers in the allotment process.Houses along the village phirni will be fully exempted from land acquisition. Houses in fields outside village abadi and the village phirni that fall under the planning area will be relocated. Common village facilities — government and panchayat schools, parks and dispensaries — will also be exempted from acquisition proceedings.The government has additionally committed to completing all development works within three years of passing the acquisition award and taking possession of the land.Senior government officials say the enhanced package now on offer is among the most generous in the country. Under the optional Land Pooling Policy — even before the latest enhancements — the combined market value of developed plots available to a farmer was estimated at approximately Rs 16 crore per acre, against a pre-notification land value of Rs 5 crore per acre and a post-notification market value of around Rs 8 crore per acre. With the additional concessions now announced, officials say the balance has tilted even further in the farmer’s favour.“The meeting concluded with a consensus that these proposals are necessary to address the genuine concerns of farmers and to reinforce their role as partners in the development process,” the functionary said, adding that all proposals have been processed for approval at the competent level.Villages to be developed alongside townshipsOne of the key demands of the farmers was that their villages should not be left behind while planned urban development proceeds around them. The government has accepted this demand in full, committing that GMADA will integrate village sewerage, water supply and storm water drainage systems with its own infrastructure networks. Priority development of village roads will be ensured by all departments concerned, and in case any department faces a funding shortfall, GMADA will provide critical gap funding.On the long-pending issue of development in Aerotropolis Pockets A, B, C and D — which has been stalled due to proceedings related to an FIR registered by the Vigilance Bureau, Punjab — the government has decided that all pending cash compensation and other payment amounts will be deposited by the Land Acquisition Collector in the Reference Court to enable possession of the land to be taken over. Compensation for structures and orchards not covered under the FIR will be released directly to landowners, while those specifically covered under the FIR will be deposited in court. A new transparent policy for assessment of structures and orchards will be framed separately.Enhanced benefits & major concessionsEnhanced Plot Entitlement (per acre, 1 acre and above).Under mixed use/general category: residential plot unchanged at 1,000 sq yd; commercial SCO increased from 200 sq yd to 210 sq yd.Under residential category: allotment increased from 1,600 sq yd to 1,630 sq yd.New Oustee Quota (at scheme price): Up to 0.5 acre: 200 sq yd plot. Between 0.5 and 2.5 acres: 300 sq yd plot. Above 2.5 acres: 500 sq yd plot.Sahuliyat Certificate: Validity extended from 2 years to 4 years from date of award payment or LOI issuance. Priority tubewell connection window extended to 4 years; installation mandated within two months of application.Conveyance Deed: Free of cost for original landowners (not applicable to LOI transferees).Draw of Lots: All plots, including preferential location plots, to be included in the draw — no plots to be retained by GMADA.Development timelineAll development works to be completed within 3 years of award and possession.Pucca Morcha ends The ending of the three-week Pucca Morcha marks the latest turn in a saga that has defined Punjab’s urban expansion ambitions over the past year.The trouble began in June 2025, when The Tribune exclusively first reported that the Bhagwant Mann-led AAP government had notified a flagship Land Pooling Policy-2025 proposing the compulsory acquisition of 65,533 acres statewide, with farmers to receive developed plots instead of cash — whether they agreed or not. The report triggered an immediate political firestorm. Farmers from dozens of villages, backed by the Congress, Shiromani Akali Dal and BJP, launched large-scale protests. The Punjab and Haryana High Court issued an interim stay. The government, facing combined judicial, political and farmer pressure, withdrew the policy entirely in August 2025.The state returned in November 2025 with a revised Land Pooling Policy — structurally similar in its plot entitlements but fundamentally different in one respect: it was now optional, not compulsory. Every farmer in the 11,103-acre acquisition belt across Greater Mohali and New Chandigarh — covering seven new townships, seven new sectors including a commercial Sector 87 modelled on Chandigarh’s iconic Sector 17, new industrial parks, and 1,240 acres of master plan roads — was given the free choice between developed plots under the policy and statutory cash compensation under the Land Acquisition Act, 2013.The optional model worked to a significant extent. A majority of village panchayats passed formal resolutions endorsing the acquisition. Three compensation awards have already been declared — Rs 446.22 crore for 206.39 acres of the Aerotropolis A, B, C and D project; Rs 3,690.32 crore for 716 acres of Eco City-3 in New Chandigarh; and Rs 1,932.38 crore for 309.30 acres of the Low Density/High Density township in New Chandigarh — totalling Rs 6,069 crore across 1,231 acres.But a section of farmers — arguing that plot entitlements were inadequate, that Sahuliyat Certificate validity was too short, that Oustee Quota benefits were absent, and that their villages would be swallowed by urban development without any compensating infrastructure — remained aggrieved and launched the Pucca Morcha.