GMADA Notifies Enhanced Land Pooling Policy: Bigger Plots for Farmers Across Eco City-3, Aerotropolis and New Chandigarh Belt

What was decided

The Punjab Government formally notified a revised Land Pooling Policy for the Greater Mohali Area Development Authority (GMADA) on July 6, 2026. The notification amended the Land Pooling Policy-2020 notified on January 5, 2021, and subsequently amended on November 21, 2025. The Council of Ministers approved the changes on July 1, and on July 6, the Punjab Government formally notified the third revision of its Land Pooling Policy in twelve months. The enhanced policy is applicable across the entire Greater Mohali Area Development Authority (GMADA) jurisdiction with immediate effect, and revises plot entitlements upward across all land use categories.

The notification simultaneously amended the Oustee Policy-2013 to extend oustee plot benefits to all farmers, including those who opted for cash compensation.

Revised plot entitlements

Under the residential category, GMADA will now return 1,000 square yards of residential plots per acre, unchanged, but the commercial SCO component has been increased from 200 square yards to 210 square yards per acre. Alternatively, landowners opting for only residential plots will receive 1,630 square yards per acre, up from the earlier 1,600 square yards. The commercial land category entitlement has been raised from 800 square yards to 840 square yards per acre, a significant upward revision for farmers whose land falls in commercial or mixed use zones.

The revision closes a specific grievance over preferential plots. All plots, including preferential location plots that were previously being retained by GMADA, will be included in the draw of lots to ensure equitable opportunity for all farmers. This provision will also apply to Aerotropolis Pockets A, B, C and D, Eco City-3 and the low/high density townships.

Oustee Policy-2013 amendment

The simultaneously amended Oustee Policy-2013 extends oustee residential plot entitlements to all farmers irrespective of whether they opted for land pooling or cash compensation and irrespective of the purpose of land acquisition.

Under the revised oustee policy, a landowner with one acre under acquisition is entitled to a 200 sq yd residential plot at scheme price on a preferential basis; those with above one and up to 2.5 acres are entitled to 300 sq yd; and those with above 2.5 acres are entitled to 500 sq yd, subject to conditions fixed by the authority.

Special LOI mechanism and cash-out option

Special LOIs will also apply to Eco City-3 and the low/high density township, extending the benefit to farmers in two of the three projects for which compensation awards have already been declared. Landowners can also opt for cash compensation three years after launch at the original scheme rate by surrendering remaining Special LOIs.

Sahuliyat Certificate and conveyance deed changes

The validity of the Sahuliyat Certificate, the facilitation document that gives farmers financial benefits in lieu of acquired land, has been extended from two years to four years, reckoned from the date of payment of the award amount or the date of allotment of a plot under the land pooling policy, whichever applicable. The certificate now offers two stamp duty options; under option 1, no stamp duty or other charges will be levied on the original landowner, not LOI transferees, at the time of registration of conveyance deed of developed plots allotted under the land pooling scheme.

Related tubewell benefits announced during the run-up to the notification also extended timelines: the window to avail priority tubewell connections has also been extended from two to four years in line with the revised Sahuliyat Certificate validity, and the concerned department has been mandated to ensure installation of tubewell connections within two months of an application.

Background: why the policy was revised again

This is the third version of the land pooling framework in roughly a year. The Tribune first exclusively reported in June 2025 that the state had notified the Land Pooling Policy proposing compulsory pooling of 65,533 acres statewide, triggering widespread farmer protests, an interim stay from the Punjab and Haryana High Court, and ultimately the complete withdrawal of the policy in August 2025. A revised policy was introduced in November 2025, offering farmers a choice between developed plots or statutory cash compensation as part of the 11,103-acre acquisition drive.

Residual dissatisfaction produced sustained protest. Residual grievances over plot size, the exclusion of cash compensees from oustee quota, the short two-year Sahuliyat Certificate window, and preferential plots being retained by GMADA produced the Pucca Morcha, a three-week permanent dharna outside GMADA headquarters in Mohali. The April 11 high-level meeting produced the in-principle decisions, and the July 6 notification converts those decisions into enforceable policy.

Scale of the underlying acquisition drive

The policy sits within a much larger land programme. The urban expansion of Greater Mohali and New Chandigarh — seven new townships, seven new sectors, and a tripled Aerotropolis — is the largest planned development in the Tricity region's history. Compensation awards already declared before this notification cover three projects: Rs 3,690.32 crore for 716 acres of Eco City-3, Rs 446.22 crore for 206.39 acres of Aerotropolis Blocks A-D, and Rs 1,932.38 crore for 309.30 acres of the low/high density township, together totalling Rs 6,069 crore across 1,231 acres.

Practical effect and value implications

GMADA's own figures, cited in Tribune reporting, illustrate the financial stakes for landowners. In the GMADA area, agricultural land was valued at approximately Rs 5 crore per acre before acquisition notifications began; after notifications, values moved to approximately Rs 8 crore per acre; and the developed plots a farmer receives under the policy carry a combined estimated market value of approximately Rs 16 crore per acre. Whether that figure is realised depends on whether the development actually happens and when.

Analysts note the core risk is delivery, not entitlement design. The three-year development deadline is the most critical commitment and the most vulnerable, since every previous timeline in the Mohali-New Chandigarh belt has slipped, and the deadline needs independent oversight and financial penalties for non-compliance, not just a government circular.