Chandigarh, Sep 6 (IANS) Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal has said that no land in the state will be acquired from farmers without obtaining their prior consent, a state government spokesman said here Monday.

Badal, who had visited Jalandhar city, 150 km from here Sunday, met some farmers who were opposing the acquisition of their farm lands by the Jalandhar Improvement Trust and directed the trust officials not to go ahead with any acquisition without getting the consent of the concerned farmers.

'The policy of the Punjab government is not to acquire land without the consent of owners of the land. This is applicable all over the state,' the spokesman said, quoting Badal.

Farmers from 4-5 villages near Jalandhar are opposing a move by the Jalandhar Improvement Trust to acquire nearly 380 acres of their lands for setting up a residential colony.

Badal had earlier said that while acquiring land for the international airport project at Mohali, near Chandigarh, the Punjab government had first obtained the consent of the farmers whose land was being taken over.

The farmers in villages near Mohali were paid a compensation of Rs.15 million (Rs.1.5 crore) per acre, the highest ever given by the Punjab government.