The Punjab government has set in motion land acquisition proceedings for yet another new residential township in New Chandigarh, issuing a Social Impact Assessment notification on June 2 for the compulsory acquisition of 526.03 acres of land across four villages — Kartarpur, Kansala, Rajgarh and Boothgarh — in Majri sub-tehsil under Kharar tehsil of Mohali district, for the development of the Eco City-4 residential project, a copy of the official notification exclusively accessed by The Tribune reveals.
The notification has been issued under Section 4(1) of the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013, by Principal Secretary, Housing and Urban Development, Vikas Garg. It marks the formal first step in the statutory land acquisition process — triggering a Social Impact Assessment study that must be completed within six months, to be followed by further notifications and ultimately a compensation award.
The proposed acquisition covers 172.75 acres in Kartarpur, 183.59 acres in Kansala, 9.90 acres in Rajgarh, and 159.79 acres in Boothgarh, as per the approved Master Plan of New Chandigarh dated December 28, 2015. The project has been entrusted to the Greater Mohali Area Development Authority (GMADA), a special development authority constituted by the Punjab Government for planned development of New Chandigarh.
The notification states that since the project falls under Section 2(1)(e) — planned development — the mandatory consent of gram sabhas or landowners under Section 2(2) of the Act is not required. However, the entire Social Impact Assessment shall be carried out in full consultation with the concerned panchayats and landowners.
The SIA study, once complete, will include a Social Impact Assessment Report and a Social Impact Management Plan, which will be made available in the local language and uploaded on the department’s official website.
Significance: One more township added
The Eco City-4 notification adds a fresh project to what is already the most ambitious urban expansion drive in Punjab’s history — a plan to acquire 11,103 acres across Greater Mohali and New Chandigarh to develop seven new townships, seven new sectors, and over 1,240 acres of master plan roads, as exclusively reported by The Tribune.
Within that plan, the 716-acre Eco City-3 in New Chandigarh — covering nine villages including Kartarpur, Kansala and Rajgarh, three of which now figure again in the Eco City-4 notification — has already seen its compensation award declared at Rs 3,690.32 crore. With Eco City-4 now entering the pipeline, the state is effectively extending its residential township belt deeper into New Chandigarh, pushing the total land under acquisition or proposed for acquisition in the region beyond 11,600 acres.
For the largest single project in the existing plan — the 3,535-acre Aerotropolis Blocks E, F, G, H, I and J — a Section 19 declaration has already been issued, with a compensation award under Section 30 imminent. For the new commercial Sector 87, modelled on Chandigarh’s iconic Sector 17, and the industrial Sectors 101 and 103, Section 11 notifications have been issued post-SIA.
For the Aerotropolis Extension in Banur (2,489 acres), Industrial Park Sector 101 (488 acres), commercial pockets of Sectors 85, 86 and 88 (76 acres), and master plan roads (1,240 acres), Section 4(1) notifications have been issued. The Section 4(1) notification for Eco City Extension (90 acres) is also at an advanced stage.
Background: From firestorm to full speed
The current wave of acquisitions follows one of the most turbulent policy journeys in the state’s recent history. In June 2025, The Tribune first exclusively reported that the Bhagwant Mann-led AAP government had notified a Land Pooling Policy-2025 proposing compulsory acquisition of 65,533 acres statewide — the first such exercise under the new AAP regime.
The report triggered immediate and widespread farmer protests, backed by the Congress, Shiromani Akali Dal and BJP. The Punjab and Haryana High Court issued an interim stay and the government was forced to withdraw the policy entirely in August 2025.
The state returned in November 2025 with a revised, optional Land Pooling Policy — offering farmers the free choice between developed plots under the policy or statutory cash compensation. The optional model gained wider acceptance, with a majority of affected village panchayats passing resolutions endorsing the acquisition. Three compensation awards totaling Rs 6,069 crore across 1,231 acres have since been declared.
However, residual grievances among a section of farmers led to a Pucca Morcha — a three-week-long permanent dharna and chain hunger strike outside GMADA headquarters at Sector 62, Mohali — which ended recently after the government agreed to a further enhanced package of benefits.
Under the revised terms, the commercial plot entitlement was raised from 200 to 210 sq yd per acre, the residential entitlement from 1,600 to 1,630 sq yd, oustee quota certificates with plots at scheme price were extended to all farmers, the Sahuliyat Certificate validity was doubled from two to four years, conveyance deeds for original landowners made free of cost, and all preferential location plots included in the draw of lots.
The government also committed to completing all development works within three years of award and possession, and to integrating village sewerage, water and road infrastructure with GMADA systems.
With those concessions in place and the Pucca Morcha called off, the state has wasted no time in adding Eco City-4 to its expanding acquisition pipeline.
