Bidadi project: Hours after Karnataka Chief Minister announces review panel, govt. issues final land notification for acquiring 4,944.49 acres across four villages

Amid ongoing farmers’ protests, the State government on Wednesday issued the final notification for acquisition of 4,944.49 acres of land spread across four villages near Bidadi for the Greater Bengaluru Integrated District (GBIT) project, known as the Bidadi Town Project. This is the largest slice of land ever reported. The first set belonged to only 518.45 acres of land in three villages.

The development came just hours after Chief Minister DK Shivakumar announced that the State government would constitute a committee to examine the pros and cons of the project. Meanwhile, the farmers’ protest against the project at Bairamangala in Bidadi is approaching 500 days.

The latest notification on Wednesday covers four revenue villages of 4,944.49 acres, including 4,717.96 acres of agricultural land, including KG Gollarapalya, Bannigiri, Aralalusandra and Hosuru. Among them, Hosuru covers 2,390.12 acres and Aralalusandra covers 1,460.21 acres. This is the second of three village groups reported for the project.

With this, the government has issued final notifications for acquisition of 5,462 acres of land spread across seven villages. However, the project requires acquisition of 9,600 acres of land spread across nine revenue villages and 16 non-revenue villages. The remaining two villages where final notification is awaited are Bairamangala and Kanchugaranahalli.

Work to be continued

A senior GBDA official said that approval has been received from the required percentage of stakeholders and the work will continue even while the project is being evaluated.

“Many farmers come to our office demanding faster notification of their land and payment of compensation. Therefore, we must continue to work on their behalf,” the official said. “We will not force those who do not want to leave their land. We will pay compensation to anyone who wants to give their land and continue our work,” he said.