Ludhiana, Oct. 14 -- After being forced to withdraw its widely opposed Land Pooling Policy, under which it had proposed to acquire over 65,000 acres of land across Punjab, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government now plans to generate fundsby selling or leasing unutilised properties of the state's power corporation. According to officials familiar with the development, the government has directed the Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) to carry out an intensive survey of all unutilised and vacant land pockets in Ludhiana, Patiala and Mohali to identify assets that can be auctioned or leased under its disinvestment plan. Officials said the power corporation has been asked to prepare a comprehensive list of such properties by mid-October. In Ludhiana alone, the government is reportedly eyeing around 40 PSPCL-owned properties, including the Power Colony in Sarabha Nagar, the long-pending Ludhiana City Centre project and land parcels opposite the District Administrative Complex near Punjab Agricultural University. Explaining the move, power minister Sanjeev Arora said, "We have proposed to lease or sell these properties under the existing Optimum Use of Vacant Government Lands scheme, which predates our government. This initiative aims to utilise vacant lands across all government departments and not just PSPCL. Surveys are being conducted to identify areas that are underutilised or in a cramped state and no lands earmarked for grids or power substations will be touched. This move will help clear debts and support overall development." Union leaders, however, have strongly opposed the move, calling it an attempt to dilute the corporation's autonomy and jeopardise its future expansion. They said most of these properties, though lying unutilised for years, were originally meant for setting up power infrastructure, including substations, offices and colonies, to meet the city's growing electricity demands. Ajay Pal Singh Atwal, general secretary of the PSEB Engineers Federation, said, "The government is conducting these surveys under the pretext of disinvestment. They claim the revenue will be reinvested in the department, but that is not feasible. These lands belong to the power corporation for building essential power houses and substations. Ludhiana's electricity demand is rising rapidly, and selling off such strategic land will hurt future capacity building." He pointed out that this was not the first attempt to monetise PSPCL assets. "In June 2020, the previous Congress government initiated the sale of 1,764 acres belonging to the dismantled Guru Nanak Dev Thermal Power Plant in Bathinda. The government had announced that 80% of the revenue would go to PSPCL, but the corporation has not received a single rupee to date. How can we now believe such assurances?" he asked. Echoing similar sentiments, Rashpal Singh, deputy general secretary of the PSEB Employees Federation, said the survey was being conducted in coordination with the Punjab Development Commission, which undermined the corporation's autonomy. "These lands are located in the heart of Ludhiana and are crucial for establishing future substations and offices. The government is suggesting alternative sites on the city's outskirts, but such locations are not feasible for critical power infrastructure. Electricity transmitted over long distances suffers voltage loss, which would directly affect supply quality and stability in densely populated areas," he said. A member of the Association of Junior Engineers also raised questions over the legality of the move, saying, "Many of these land parcels were donated by village panchayats and private individuals decades ago for public service to set up substations, offices and power grids. Selling them for commercial purposes would be legally wrong." Meanwhile, opposing the property sale plan, various engineer, employee and pensioner unions of PSPCL have announced a statewide agitation from October 16 to 31, culminating in a state-level protest in Ludhiana on November 2....