'No question of de-notifying land', Dy CM defends Bidadi township project

He claimed that as many as 70% of the land owners including Kumaraswamy’s wife and son have sought compensation for the land indicating consent for land acquisition.

Bengaluru: Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar on Thursday stuck to the state government’s decision of proceeding with the Bidadi Township project, stating he would wish to "go to jail like former chief minister B S Yediyurappa” by de-notifying the land.

“I am not an outsider. I am from Ramanagara district. Farmers know which government was in power when the Bidadi industrial area was developed. Sixteen thousand acres were acquired for it. Several companies including Toyota set up factories here. I also lost 12 acres of land,” said Shivakumar addressing the farmers.

He claimed that as many as 70 per cent of the land owners including Kumaraswamy’s wife and son have sought compensation for the land indicating consent for land acquisition. "Only 30 per cent of the land owners are yet to give consent. I will discuss how to help the protesting farmers,” he said.

Shivakumar also stressed the legal constraints around land acquisition, saying, “There is no provision in law to take a special decision for Bidadi alone. Any decision here will set a precedent affecting land acquisition across the state. Though there was pressure to drop this area, denotification is not possible under current laws.”

Responding to farmers’ claims that Kumaraswamy had promised to drop land acquisition, Shivakumar dismissed the assertion as “false”, urging, “He is in a big position now; ask him to drop land acquisition if he can.”