Chandigarh, Aug. 8 -- The Punjab and Haryana high court on Thursday stayed implementation of the land-pooling scheme announced by the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government in Punjab for "planned urban development".

Punjab advocate general Maninderjit Singh Bedi confirmed the development. A detailed order, however, is awaited.

Under the scheme notified on June 4, the government plans to acquire 65,533 acres of land across 21 cities and towns in the state to develop both industrial and residential zones. It was dubbed as the largest acquisition of land by the government in the state since 1966. However, since its announcement, the policy has come under severe criticism from the political parties and farmer bodies, who are terming it as a "loot...