Devanahalli land row: Split as pro-acquisition group meets CM Siddaramaiah

Bengaluru: In a sudden development, some landowners from Devanahalli have told Chief Minister Siddaramaiah that they are ready to sell their land in exchange for a handsome rate, marking the first crack in the three-year-long non-stop protest by farmers against the acquisition of their land.

This delegation of farmers submitted a memorandum to Siddaramaiah, offering to part with 449 acres of their land. They have sought a compensation of Rs 3.5 crore per acre. 

Farmers from 13 villages in Channarayapatna have been protesting for 1,195 days against the acquisition of 1,777 acres of their lands for a defence and aerospace park. The government is due to meet them on July 15 with a decision on what it wants to do on the issue. 

The anti-acquisition group of farmers was quick to issue a statement, distancing themselves from the delegation that met Siddaramaiah. 

"The malicious intent of the pro-land acquisition team is to break the unity of the people from 13 villages in Channarayapatna hobli; the people who toil and sweat in the fields are with us," Karalli Srinivas, convener of the 'Channarayapatna Land Acquisition Protest Committee', said. 

"Most of those who met the CM are Congress leaders and real estate intermediaries from this area. They have made agreements to sell lands," Srinivas said. 

The pro-acquisition farmers' delegation met Siddaramaiah on the sidelines of a meeting he convened with his Cabinet colleagues and officials to discuss the next legal steps ahead of the July 15 meeting. 

Their second demand is for farmers' children to be given jobs based on their education levels. They also do not want their lands to be put under the 'green zone' (where only agricultural activities are allowed). Lastly, they want their neighbouring lands to come under the 'yellow zone' (residential use with some commercial activities). 

When he met the agitating farmers on July 4, Siddaramaiah had sought 10 days to clear the government's stance, citing legal hurdles involved in the denotification of the lands that have been marked for acquisition. 

Last month, the government announced that it would drop the acquisition of 495 acres of land. However, the protesting farmers refused this and demanded that the entire project be scrapped.