Credit: DH Photo
Bengaluru: Farmers from the Devanahalli taluk, whose land has been notified for acquisition for various projects, say the Karnataka Industrial Areas Development Board (KIADB) has become a "land-grabbing entity".
Pointing out that their lands are being diverted for non-industrial purposes, accused the KIADB of acting as a "real-estate lobby" by using force and legal provisions to override farmers’ interests.
Farmers from 13 villages have been resisting the KIADB's efforts to acquire 1,777 acres of land for the proposed high-tech defence and aerospace park.
On January 28, 2022, farmers from Channarayapatna hobli received notices from the KIADB that their lands would be acquired. However, they burnt the notices, saying they did not want their lands to be taken by the government.
They have been protesting for 1,184 days now.
According to farmers, the land acquisition took place in two phases.
Many of them are marginal farmers who own only one to two acres, and their livelihoods are completely dependent on it.
"Does the government really need fertile land, which has supported farmers and their families for hundreds of years?" asked Mallige Sirimane, a social activist.
Ramesh Cheemachanahalli, a protest leader, says fertile land, conducive weather conditions and an accessible market nearby make this region a haven for farmers.
He said that in the initial phases of acquisition, people gave up their lands in the hope of development, but it turned bitter for many of them. They are now struggling to find a livelihood. Farmers, who are skilled in agriculture, find it impossible to do other chores.
Pramod, a farmer from Polanahalli village, owns six acres of land and grows vegetables like tomato, bottle gourd, fruits like grapes and mango, and flowers like marigold and chrysanthemum, earning Rs 12-14 lakh annually. He says he's self-reliant and happily leading his life.
He added that a farmer who sold his land in the first phase of acquisition, who was well-off when he had his land, now suffers from poverty and works at a nearby Exide factory as a sanitation worker.
"They took land in the name of industrial development but gave 165 acres to an educational institute and another 100 acres to a real estate group, making capitalists rich in the name of development," says P N Beeranna, a local farmer. "While we are paid Rs 1-2 crore as compensation, our lands were sold for Rs 8-10 crore."
Beeranna said that their village, which once produced 1,000 litres of milk daily, has been producing only 150 litres per day in the past five years. The village also lost 40% of its land area in the first phase of acquisition.
Parvathamma from the Mattabaralu village is possessive about her land and voiced her disappointment against the chief minister and local leaders. "Why should they need our fertile lands? They should instead go to the Challakere region in Chitradurga, where wastelands are plenty," she asked.
Jagadeesh D, another farmer from Polanahalli, regretted selling two acres in the first phase. He said his remaining 1.5 acres had been listed for acquisition in the second phase. The compensation he received is not even enough to buy him a site in the region. "I will never leave my land again. Maybe I will leave my life, but not land," he stated.