Land Grab Practices and a Threat to Livelihood and Food Security in India? A Case Study from Aerocity Expansion Project from S.A.S. Nagar, Punjab

Abstract

Agricultural dominant societies in India have slowly shifted from traditional agricultural practices to modern infrastructural development. The recent trend of developing high-tech cities is an effort by the Punjab government to bring additional investment to the state and boost its economy. But to do that at the expense of highly fertile agricultural land is a debatable proposition. One of the most recent ventures towards this objective is the kind of development being initiated in the vicinity of Chandigarh and Mohali by Greater Mohali Area Development Authority (GMADA)—an Aerocity Expansion project. This article will focus on Patton, Kurai and Seon—three out of 14 villages where 1,305 acres of land have been proposed to be acquired. This article explores blatant land grab practices by the state authority in the name of development, which act as barriers to the food security and threaten the livelihood of those whose land will be acquired in the near future. The study will further focus on people’s perception of the new development project initiated by GMADA.