Fed up with their land stuck in bureaucratic limbo, thousands of farmers whose lands were notified for acquisition for the Peripheral Ring Road over 11 years ago, have decided to launch an indefinite strike to urge the government to find a “final” solution to their problem.
Between 2005 and 2007, the Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) issued a series of notifications to nearly 8,000 households for the acquisition of 1,920 acres to connect Hosur Road, Old Madras Road and Tumakuru Road.
With the project still stuck in the planning stage, farmers say their lands have turned white elephants. “Neither can be take loan on our land nor can we sink borewells there,” says Jairam from Anekal taluk. Thirty guntas of his land – where he grows roses – has been notified, and he says he had to pull his children out of school as he could not raise loans for carrying out his farming activities.
Kaveriyappa H.M., whose 1.5-acre farm at Gattahalli in Sarjapur taluk has been notified, has spent the past decade working on leased land. “We didn’t want to take the risk of cultivating on our land as we might have to lose all the money invested on it. How can the government just expect to sit on land surrounded by uncertainty?” he asked.
As many as 1,000 farmers are expected to stage a protest at the BDA office on October 7 to urge the authorities concerned to resolve the issue. “We will not withdraw our protest until the BDA decides either to provide us compensation or shelve the project,” said Kodihalli Chandrashekar, president of the Karnataka Rajya Raitha Sangha. T. Sham Bhatt, BDA Commissioner, said the project could not go ahead until Rs. 8,000 crore financing was given for land acquisition. “We have sent several proposals to the State government, but we don’t know which one will be approved and when… BDA itself can’t go ahead with the project on its own,” he said.
Farming activities have been affected as the project for which the land was notified has got stuck in the planning stage itself
