'Leave our fertile land as it is': Township project plan leaves Bidadi’s farming community in a fix

The Greater Bengaluru Integrated Township project, popularly known as Bidadi township, will come up on 7,481 acres; many farmers are against parting with their land.

For Girish and his family in Chikka Byramangala, their 4.5-acre farmland is the means of their livelihood.

From yielding 300 kg of silk a month to growing crops such as coconut, arecanut and banana throughout the year, his family has lived in peace.

Using the income, Girish bought a residential site closer to the main road in Byramangala, built a house and married off his elder daughter, while the younger one is pursuing higher studies.

“There is abundant water for farmers in and around Bidadi, even if it does not rain for several months. We are not very rich, but we are financially sound,” he said.

On Monday, he and his wife were among two dozen farmers participating in a demonstration in Byramangala against the Greater Bengaluru Integrated Township (GBIT) project.

The project, popularly known as Bidadi township, will come up on 7,481 acres. The State government is expected to issue the final notification for acquiring the land in a week.

Girish’s land is among the 7,481 acres notified for acquisition. The final notification for acquisition may come next week. Ever since the township was notified in early 2025, many farmers have come together for a fight against it.

The agitation has entered its 434th day. While some farmers gather at the site after their farm work, a few even spend the night under the makeshift tent as a mark of protest.

B M Srinivas Reddy, who owns 8 acres of irrigated farmland, said farmers had initially resisted the attempt to survey the land for the township.

“When the joint measurement committee came, we stopped their vehicle. We were booked by the police, but our protest was peaceful,” he said.

Bidadi, he said, supplies 6 lakh litres of milk daily. “There are 2 lakh coconut trees. These villages are also known for mangoes, chikoo and silk,” he said. Reddy was also part of the delegation that met Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar. “Leave our fertile land as it is,” he said. 

Officials in the Greater Bengaluru Development Authority (GBDA) maintained that many farmers were willing to part with their land because of the declining agricultural returns from their lands and pollution in the lake. “We are taking the land based on consent. Also, compensation is higher than what is offered in any other state,” an official said. He said the authority would benefit if farmers opted for monetary compensation.

“Yet, we are encouraging them to take developed sites. Value of land will be huge once the township is ready,” he said.

Farmer groups remain unconvinced. Some are in favour of holding a referendum in the villages. Manjunath, another farmer, said the government should not push through the project without consulting farmers.

“We want the opinion of every affected family to be officially recorded. If more farmers are in favour, we will withdraw the protest,” Manjunath said.