Shivaram Karanth Layout: Farmers protest bulldozing of crops, arrested

Ignoring requests of over 2,000 farmers for fair compensation, the government began bulldozing through farmlands to develop the Shivaram Karanth Layout.

Over the last three days bulldozers began uprooting tonnes of vegetables and fruits, from cucumber, cabbage to guava as well as large coconut trees.

Farmers who protested razing of their lands were packed into buses and taken to police stations in and around Gangammanagudi, Yelahanka, Soladevanahalli, Rajanukunte and Vidyaranyapura.

Yelahanka New Town police booked nine farmers under Section 353 for “obstructing officials” and sent them to judicial custody, a move activists branded as a tactics to silence the farming community.

To a question by DH, an official said: “There is no question of issuing notice to farmers to vacate the land. We are going by the Supreme Court order. We have given them enough time to accept the award.”

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First notified in 2008, the Shivaram Karanth Layout requires 3,546 acres spread across 17 villages.

Armed with police protection, the Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) on Friday began the work in lands divided into nine sectors for “operational convenience”.

Farmers have been demanding the government provide compensation as per the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013, which calculates the compensation as two times the market value in urban areas and four times in rural areas.

Last year, the BDA offered two choices to farmers: Accept 40 per cent of the sites developed in their land or take the compensation calculated on the basis of government guidance value, one-time solatium of 30 per cent, and 12 per cent interest for nine years.

‘Compensation pittance’

A farmer from Kalatammanahalli in Hesaraghatta taluk said both the choices were unacceptable. “The compensation is pittance of the market value, which runs into Rs 3 to 6 crore. The idea of developed sites in lieu of compensation seems attractive. However, going by the BDA’s history in Kempegowda Layout and Arkavathy Layout, I don’t think it’s a good option,” he said on condition of anonymity.

The BDA’s decision to calculate compensation as per the Land Acquisition Act, 1894 has been bolstered by the Supreme Court’s January 2022 order, which held that the 2013 law “not applicable for acquisitions made under the BDA Act”.

Mavalli Srinivas, a farmer affected by the Peripheral Ring Road project and fighting with other farmers, said the Supreme Court has not barred the government from looking into the farmers’ demands.

“After the development of the airport, the land value has skyrocketed in all the villages. Why can’t the government take a decision to ensure farmers do not suffer injustice?” he said.

BDA Chairman S R Vishwanath had vowed to help farmers by ensuring that the government files an affidavit in the Supreme Court to drop land acquisition. He was not reachable for comment.