On July 8, 2020, residents of Sekhowal village, in Ludhiana district of Punjab, were rattled when the state's government announced its plans of setting up an industrial park over 955 acres of land in the Mattewara area, out of which 416 acres comprises Sekhowal village's Shamlat (common) panchayat land.

Most of the 70 households of Sekhowal village are Mazhabi Sikhs, a notified schedule caste (Dalit) community in Punjab and rely on the village common land for their livelihood. They are now waging a lone battle to take back their common land that the previous Congress led Punjab government ‘purchased’ from them in 2020 for a textile industrial park. A village resident, Gurdev Singh said, "If this land is taken away from us, we will be forced to do menial jobs as daily wagers. At least now we have a dignified life. It will also affect the local ecology, given that the boundary of our village is adjacent to the Mattewara forest area on one side, and the other side is next to the catchment area of the Sutlej river."

Kashmir Singh, another affected villager, told LCW that instead of following the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013 (LARR Act, 2013), the then state government purchased Sekhowal's common land through a resolution signed by the village Sarpanch, without informing any other stakeholder. “Once word came out about this, we contested the resolution by calling a Gram Sabha meeting. But the state government overlooked the concerns of the Gram Sabha and bought the land through the Greater Ludhiana Area Development Authority (GLADA) against a compensation of INR 80 crore that is still lying unused in the official account of village panchayat,” Singh alleged.

Holding village Sarpanch, Amrik Kaur responsible, Kashmir Singh further alleged that though the village Sarpanch claimed she was misled by government officials, it was she who got the sale deed executed in favour of GLADA on October 2, 2020. “The sale deed was also signed by one of her panches, Khajan Singh and panchayat secretary, Harpal Singh Randhawa,” Singh added. When contacted, Amrik Kaur told LCW that, “I had no idea all this would turn out to be a sham… I am with the villagers in their ongoing fight to take back the land,” she said.

Senior journalist Hamir Singh, who has been associated with the matter, told LCW that in 2019 an amendment was made to the Punjab Village Common Land (Regulation) Rules, 1964, by the Amarinder Singh led Punjab government. This amendment allowed the government to bypass the LARR Act, 2013, and purchase village common lands directly through the village Panchayat, without consulting the village residents. It was brought in for the creation of land banks in rural areas for industrial development in the state. Shamlat land of Sekhowal village was purchased through this amendment, without taking the consent of village residents.

Environmental activist, Amandeep Singh Bains, told LCW that another amendment which facilitated the purchase of panchayat land for this project was the one made in the Master Plan for Ludhiana. Earlier, according to the plan the area around Sekhowal village and Mattewara forest was declared as a no-manufacturing zone. “But the state government amended the Master Plan in July 2021 to facilitate this project despite the objection of local residents,” he added.

On June 21, 2021, there was an attempt by GLADA to take possession of the land with the help of local police. But it was foiled when the whole village assembled against the move. Kashmir Singh said that after that episode, GLADA officials visited multiple times to pressure them to vacate the land. Sandeep Kumar, Chief Administrator, GLADA could not be reached for comments and even Additional Chief Administrator, Shikha Bhagat did not respond to LCW.

Kashmir Singh, along with other village residents, have also initiated a legal challenge in the Ludhiana civil court seeking to quash the sale deed signed between Sekhowal village panchayat and GLADA. Advocate AM Thind, representing Kashmir Singh and others, informed LCW that they have filed three lawsuits: demanding a stay on the sale deed, challenging the sale deed executed between GLADA and Sekhowal Panchayat, and claiming ownership rights over the panchayat land as they have been cultivating it for several years respectively. All three suits are pending in the Ludhiana civil court till date.

According to Kashmir Singh, the village residents approached the Punjab and Haryana High Court through a writ petition in October 2021, seeking action against the Deputy Commissioner (DC), Ludhiana. The residents had written two letters to the DC on May 21, 2021 and July 16, 2021, with the request to cancel the purchase of their common land by GLADA as the transaction had been conducted forcefully. They also informed the DC to take note of the fact that Sekhowal's Gram Sabha had passed a resolution asserting that the land should not be sold. However, the DC took no action in response to their letters. On November 17th, 2021, the High Court ordered the Ludhiana DC to dispose off their representations and also pass an oral order within two months. Following this, the DC passed an order on February 10th, 2022 giving a clean chit to GLADA. Kashmir Singh has challenged the order of Ludhiana DC in the High Court through another petition. On May 30, 2022, the High Court issued a notice of motion seeking GLADA's response on the matter. The next hearing is scheduled on November 3, 2022.

In June 2022, Bhagwant Mann, the newly elected Chief Minister of Punjab announced in the Punjab Assembly that his government will go ahead with the textile park in the area. This led to protests by the community including Sekhowal's residents, environmental activists, and political parties. Forcing the Chief Minister to announce that he is scrapping the project.

Residents of Sekhowal village have celebrated the latest announcement as they expect that now their panchayat land will be transferred back to the village. A government notification on this matter is yet to be published.