Former Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda has strongly opposed the Karnataka government’s ambitious Bidadi Integrated Township Project and has called on Chief Minister DK Shivakumar to immediately withdraw from the project. The veteran Janata Dal (Secular) leader has threatened that if the government does not listen to farmers and moves ahead with the project, he will join the movement and hold a Satyagraha in Bengaluru and is fully behind the farmers’ protests.
The opposition to the proposed township has only grown in recent weeks as the farmers in Ramanagara district are against selling agricultural land for the project. In a letter to the Chief Minister, Deve Gowda voiced his concerns about how it will affect the lives of thousands of small and marginal farmers whose lives depend on agriculture.
According to the proposal approved by the Karnataka government through the Greater Bengaluru Development Authority, around 7,481 acres and 21.08 guntas of agricultural land spread across several villages in Bidadi Hobli of Ramanagara Taluk and parts of Harohalli Hobli are proposed to be acquired for the Greater Bengaluru Integrated Suburban Township Project, estimated to cost ₹18,133 crore. The villages most likely to be affected include Byramangala, Banagiri, Hosur, K.G. Gollarapalya, Kanchugaranahalli, Aralalasandra, Kempayyanapalya, Mandalahalli, and parts of Vaderahalli village.
Deve Gowda had noted that government records show that nearly 10,580 farmers would be impacted by the project. More importantly, about 82 per cent of these landowners are small and marginal farmers owning less than one acre of land. He also cited that nearly 2,555 farmers own less than five guntas of agricultural land, making them particularly vulnerable to displacement and loss of livelihood.
The former Prime Minister argued that the region has already witnessed large-scale acquisition of agricultural land in Ramanagara and Kanakapura taluks for industrial development through the Karnataka Industrial Areas Development Board (KIADB). Because of this fact, he questioned the necessity of acquiring more fertile farmland for another large-scale urban development project.
Deve Gowda also voiced serious environmental dangers for Byramangala Lake, which has historically been used to irrigate the area. Industrial discharge and wastewater from Vrishabhavathi Valley have already fouled the lake, he said.
He also detailed that some of the government projects of around ₹300 crore to rejuvenate and restore the lake by the Minor Irrigation Department and the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board have been pending for years. If so, he said, the presence of a huge township near the lake would only increase environmental degradation and make it worse for the region.
Having taken a strong stand, Deve Gowda reminded the Chief Minister of his decades-long commitment to protecting farmers' interests. “Over the last 7-decade public life, he has demonstrated that he has always been committed to the success of farmers and rural communities and also to his political life and will always fight for the common man, and his party members’ interests, and is prepared to give up on the political power if needed,” he said.
If his appeal is rejected and farmers’ concerns are not taken into account, he said he will stage a Satyagraha in front of Mahatma Gandhi’s statue at Vidhana Soudha. The Janata Dal (Secular) would also participate in the protests and support farmer-led protests against the project.
With opposition to the Bidadi Township Project continuing to grow, the issue is rapidly becoming one of Karnataka's most significant political and agricultural controversies. As farmers, environmental activists, and opposition leaders are raising concerns, the state government will be under increasing pressure to rethink its strategy in the coming weeks in order to go ahead with the project.
