The Hindu : Karnataka News : Land acquisition: farmers peeved at rates

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Dec 30, 2008
ePaper | Mobile/PDA Version

Karnataka

Karnataka

Land acquisition: farmers peeved at rates

Bageshree S.

Farmers made to sign ’non-justiciable document’
‘Only 20 farmers were called for
final meeting’

Bangalore: The compensation announced for acquisition of land for the Hardware Technology Park and the Information Technology (IT) Park near the Bengaluru International Airport (BIA) has left a section of farmers fuming.

Terming the compensation as “illogical and meagre,” they alleged that they were deliberately kept out of the final meeting during which the compensation package was announced.

The compensation for both hardware and IT parks was decided at different meetings, attended by officials of the Karnataka Industrial Area Development Board (KIADB), the Department of Industries and Commerce, and some farmers.

While the hardware technology park will come up on 896 acres of land in Bagalur, Hoovinayakanahalli and Bandikodagehalli villages, the IT park will come up on 1,028.19 acres in Bandikodigehalli (B.K.) Palya, Singahalli, Arebinnamangala and Gollahalli villages.

M.T. Raja Reddy, a farmer from Hoovinayakanahalli, who has lost his land to the Hardware Park project, says he and many in his village were not even served notices informing them about the meeting of December 24. “Only 10 to 15 people, who are hand in glove with the officials, were called for the final meeting, and they took the decision on behalf of all farmers,” he says.

Mr. Reddy was among the farmers who attended the two preliminary meetings and walked out of them because they were unhappy with the rates. According to the rates announced in the third and final meeting for the hardware park, farmers in Hoovinayakanahalli get Rs. 60 lakh an acre.

“Farmers in the neighbouring village of Bagalur get Rs. 70 lakh. We do not even know what the logic is in the fixing of these rates,” said Ashwath Narayana P., another farmer from the same village.

Albert Victor A. from Singahalli, whose land is being acquired for the IT park, said 80 per cent of farmers who lost their lands were not aware of the scheduling of the meeting. Mr. Victor, who attended the meeting despite not being informed about it, raised objections to the Rs. 62 lakh an acre announced, but was overruled. The farmers were made to sign what is called a “consent award” so that they cannot challenge the compensation in court, he said. “They were not even told of the implications of signing such a document,” he added.

However, KIADB Special Land Acquisition Officer, Muninarayanappa, dismissed these accusations as “baseless” and claimed that the procedure had been “transparent”. “All voices were heard and recorded. It was decided in the previous meetings that only farmer leaders would be called in the final meeting,” he said. A majority of farmers were “happy” with the final award, he claimed.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Karnataka