Farmers, who parted with their land for setting up temporary townships to accommodate visitors during Mahamastakabhisheka, have demanded additional compensation from the government for damages to be caused to pipeline and other infrastructure on their land.
The district administration has acquired nearly 490 acres of land in the villages around Shravanabelagola. The owners have been paid a compensation considering the loss they suffered as they could not cultivate the land. As much as ₹1.4 crore has been paid towards compensation. The construction of 12 temporary townships, to accommodate more than 32,000 people, has been entrusted to Karnataka Road Development Corporation Ltd. The mega event is scheduled for February 2018.
Now, farmers have said that they would not allow work on their land until their demand is duly addressed. “Most of us have borewell, pumpsets and pipelines on our land. Once the administration begins construction of townships, they will damage our infrastructure as they will bring in earthmovers and dig the ground to lay a pipeline for supply of water, besides separate lines for drainage. These works will damage our land,” said Manje Gowda, resident of Hosahalli village.
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The officers, who had not considered this issue at the time of calculating the compensation, have agreed to provide the extra amount in view of possible damage to the land and basic infrastructure.
The officers of the Revenue Department have been asked to count the number of borewells, pumpsets and other infrastructure that could be damaged so that additional compensation can be calculated.