“Instead of giving away our lands for special economic zone (SEZ), let the government drop a bomb on our village, so that we will die at once,” said Narayanaswamy, a farmer at K Satyavara village in Nandagudi hobli.

He expressed this opinion when Congress leaders led by Leader of Opposition in Legislative Council H K Patil visited the villages of the hobli on Sunday.

Narayanaswamy owns four acres of land and he leads a content life with four children. “I earn my livelihood through dairy farming and sericulture. Let the government leave us alone to lead our life happily,” he pleaded.

Many farmers of Nandagudi, Ittasandra, Hindaganal villages vented their ire against the proposed special economic zone.

Munikempanna, a farmer of Ittasandra, said: “There are 4,700 acres of land belonging to the government near our villages. Let the government develop SEZ on its land and provide employment opportunities for youth of the nearby villages. We are not ready to give even an acre of land for the project,” he said.

Patil, addressing a press conference at a resort near Hoskote, alleged that Skil Infrastructure Limited has a bad reputation. It developed Navi Mumbai SEZ in Mumbai and sold it to Reliance India for profit.

“By allowing such a company to set up an SEZ in Nandagudi hobli - which is close to the international airport - the government is helping real estate businessmen make profit,” he alleged.

He said, according to records available with the State government, Skil Infrastructure Ltd recorded a profit of a mere Rs 6.63 crore in 2006. “How can a company with an annual profit of Rs 6.63 crore can drive direct investment of Rs 15,000 crore for setting up an SEZ?” he asked.

Protest

The Congress will take out a protest rally in the first week of July to oppose the government’s SEZ plan. A rally will be held at Nandagud. KPCC President Mallikarjun Kharge has convened a meeting of party leaders on Monday to decide its future course of action.

Former chairman of Legislative Council V R Sudarshan the government should come out with a white paper on its policy on SEZ.