‘Backdoor Land Grab’: SAD slams AAP over Ludhiana limits expansion to 110 villages
Babushahi Bureau
Ludhiana (Punjab), December 31, 2025: The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) has strongly condemned the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government’s decision to extend the municipal limits of the Ludhiana Municipal Corporation to an additional 110 villages, alleging that the move is a “backdoor attempt” to grab common village land worth hundreds of crores.
In a statement issued on Tuesday, SAD President Sukhbir Singh Badal said the AAP government had earlier been forced to withdraw its plan to acquire nearly 25,000 acres of land across 30 villages adjoining Ludhiana following strong protests by the Shiromani Akali Dal. He alleged that the government has now “set the wheels in motion” to implement the same plan indirectly by expanding municipal limits.
The SAD said the decision is unprecedented, especially when the AAP government has failed to properly develop and maintain the existing municipal areas. The party warned that the move would cause severe hardship to residents of the affected villages, who would be burdened with hefty house tax, water, and sewerage charges.
According to the SAD, the expansion would also result in village panchayats losing ownership and control over common village lands. Badal alleged that the AAP government intends to usurp these lands and hand them over to party cronies, builders, and industrial houses through unfair and underhand means.
Terming the move as anti-Punjab and anti-farmer, the SAD president said his party would oppose the decision “tooth and nail,” just as it did in the case of the earlier land pooling scheme. He asserted that Punjabis would unite to defeat what he described as “Delhi-based forces” attempting to snatch common village lands across 110 villages.