The latest decision of the State government to cancel the Suvarna Karnataka Industrial Corridor Land Bank Project and return13,788 acres of land to original farmers has not brought any respite to the farmers here who are desperately fighting a legal battle to protect their fertile agricultural lands, their main source of livelihood.
The Special Land Acquisition Officer of the Karnataka Industrial Area Development Board (KIADB), Dharwad, Vijay Honkeri told The Hindu on Saturday that the decision of the government to cancel the land bank project was not applicable to farmers of Kittur as the process of allotment had been done for around one-third of the area acquired for establishment of the Kittur Industrial Estate near Kittur town in Bailhongal taluk.
But some of the farmers, who have knocked the doors of the court to save their lands, say they would not give up, even if the KIADB enhanced the amount of compensation.
According to Dr. Prasanna Torgalmath, Fakeerappa Saudatti and Sadyappa Martannavar, 27 farmers are fighting a legal battle since 2011 and have filed writ petitions before the Dharwad bench of Karnataka high court, challenging the preliminary and final notifications dated Feb.17, 2010 and Oct.25, 2010 under Section 28(1) and 28(4) of the Karnataka Industrial Areas Development Act, 1996, acquiring 648 acres, 17 guntas and 4 annas situated in different survey numbers in Kittur and Dombarkoppa villages for the purpose of establishing Suvarna Industrial Corridor along the Pune-Bengaluru National Highway (forming part of the Golden Quadrangle).
Of the 648 acres, the farmers are fighting to protect their agricultural lands spread over a total area of about 210 acres along the highway. The KIADB, except in 210 acres area now under dispute, had already taken up development works at the remaining 438 acres land acquired from about 50 other growers in the villages and also allotted to the investors. The compensation paid was Rs.9 lakh, Rs.10 lakh and Rs.12 lakh per acre for dry land, irrigated and lands on the highway side respectively, a fact also corroborated by the KIADB officials.
The high court bench headed by Justice Ashok B. Hinchigeri, having heard a set of writ petitions filed by these farmers, in group and as individual, quashed the 28(3) and 28(4) notifications issued by the Special Land Acquisition officer and Member Secretary, KIADB, Dharwad and Deputy Commissioner and Chairman of the Land Value Determination Advisory Committee, Belagavi on Aug.31, 2015. The court order was available only a couple of months ago. Subsequently, the farmers have filed a Writ Appeal before the two-member bench of the court last month (Sept.2016) seeking for quashing of both the notification issued under Section 28(1) and (2).
Mr. Martannavar and Dr. Torgalmath, who own 24 acres and 6 acres respectively, say their families had developed their lands with irrigation facilities of their own over three to four decades ago, which are now full of fruit yielding trees viz. mango, coconut, chiku, cashew, tamarind, teak, lemon and few others. For most of them, agriculture is their main source of livelihood. There was no package for rehabilitation for the farmers loosing their lands.
Even if the government enhanced compensation amount, there were no alternate lands available for the farmers to take up agriculture. The money would not suffice for long, as seen with some of the farmers who have already lost their lands. However, the farmers have pinned their hopes on the court.
Trees under threat
Meanwhile, the future of more than 30,000 trees of mango, teak, coconut, etc in the Kittur Industrial Estate has come under threat, as neither the Forest department nor the KIADB had any plans to restore such a valuable asset. The horticulture department had already completed the process of valuation of all these trees and submitted its report to the KIADB-SLAO, Dharwad last year.
