Under intense pressure from farmers, landowners, political leaders, and following a sharp rebuke from the Punjab and Haryana High Court, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government on Monday withdrew its controversial land pooling policy.

The decision came days after the high court stayed the policy for four weeks, criticising the government for attempting to acquire Punjab’s most fertile land without any environmental or social impact assessment.

Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann signed the withdrawal order on Monday evening, with a formal notification to follow. The Cabinet will ratify the decision in its next meeting.

The Housing Department stated that all actions under the policy “stand reversed.” Farmers welcomed the move, while Opposition parties claimed credit for the rollback.

Housing Minister Hardeep Singh Mundian said the government respected farmers’ objections despite initially aiming to make them “equal partners in development.”

Sources said AAP leaders met with ministers, MLAs, and grassroots workers after the court stay, finding the policy’s unpopularity was overshadowing other development work. Protests by farmers, including barring AAP leaders from villages, pushed the party to retreat.

The policy, first announced in May, aimed to acquire 65,533 acres — including 45,861 in Ludhiana — in exchange for residential and commercial plots. It had previously been implemented in Mohali under the Akali-BJP government but faced strong resistance this time.

AAP MP Malvinder Singh Kang praised the withdrawal as a sign of the party’s commitment to farmers, while Punjab Congress president Amrinder Singh Raja Warring criticised the haste in announcing it and demanded accountability for wasted public funds.