Moga: Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann addressed a large-scale public rally in Moga on Saturday, signaling an early start to the 2027 election campaign by unveiling a series of pro-farmer initiatives. The Chief Minister made a landmark announcement regarding the “30-Day Takseem” scheme, set to launch on April 13. This initiative aims to resolve long-standing land partition disputes by ensuring that the division of ancestral or joint land holdings is completed within 30 days of filing an application. Mann emphasized that this step would significantly reduce the legal burden on the farming community and streamline rural governance.
Addressing the ongoing strike by commission agents, or Arhtiyas, the Chief Minister reassured farmers that wheat procurement would remain unaffected. He announced that the state government has prepared an extensive list of cooperative societies to step in and manage procurement and lifting operations if the strike persists. In a strategic move to discourage the boycott, Mann declared that Arhtiyas who do not participate in the strike will receive priority allocation for paddy during the upcoming Kharif season. He reiterated the government’s commitment to purchasing every single grain brought to the mandis without causing any distress to the growers.
Taking a swipe at opposition leaders from the Congress, BJP, and Shiromani Akali Dal, the Chief Minister portrayed them as being disconnected from the grassroots reality of Punjab. He remarked that leaders who prefer “overcoats and tight pajamas” could never truly empathize with the struggles of a farmer irrigating fields at midnight. Highlighting his government’s achievements, Mann noted that canal water utilization has surged from 22 per cent to 78 per cent, with a target of reaching 90 per cent in the next season. He also detailed infrastructure projects, such as replacing 1,100 high-voltage electricity poles with underground wiring in his own village to prevent crop fires, a model he intends to replicate across the state.
The rally, which also featured a speech by former Delhi Deputy CM Manish Sisodia, served as a platform to showcase the AAP government’s welfare portfolio, including free electricity for 90 per cent of households and the creation of 65,000 government jobs. In a significant policy shift, Mann announced the removal of mandatory fingerprinting for availing government schemes, acknowledging that the physical labour of Punjab’s workforce often wears down their fingerprints, causing technical hurdles. As the Chief Minister sought a fresh mandate for 2027, he framed education and accessible healthcare through Mohalla Clinics as the primary pillars of his administration’s vision for a transformed Punjab.
