The Panchayat, which governs a village called Lakhanpur (Garchan Patti) in the Khamano block of the Fatehgarh Sahib district in the state of Punjab, has ordered all migrant families living in the village to leave the place within a week period in one of the most controversial and legally problematic policies ever.
The Panchayat has also claimed that a number of the migrants have established unlawful camps around the canal where they loiter on the streets of the village aimlessly, smoke in public, and engage in harassing women and children. They, too, argued that there are certain people involved in the cultivation and consumption of cannabis, and this situation gave rise to consequent ill feelings about law and order, safety, and a falling social climate.
The Panchayat decision has, however, been condemned by experts on legal matters, terming it as going against constitutional rights and civil liberty. According to them, these blanket orders imposed on a group will be discriminatory and beyond the legal domain of a village Panchayat. They have reported to district authorities to step in and take notice of the case.
Locals said, “They came to work and settled down here.”
The residents argue that the families were originally hired as seasonal agricultural laborers to sow paddy and harvest wheat. However, now, a large number of the migrants have allegedly settled in the village without identity documents like Aadhaar or ID cards, and this creates concerns about security and the uncertified presence.
Sarpanch: Landlords should take full responsibility
According to the Sarpanch of the village, when any landowner hires migrant workers for their farms or motors, they should do so only after they have established their identity and take complete responsibility for their behavior. The Panchayat has even requested the administration to help in evicting the families, accusing them of treachery on the grounds of drugs, crime, and anti-social behavior.