Former Prime Minister and Rajya Sabha MP H D Deve Gowda has urged Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah to halt the land acquisition course of for the formidable Bidadi Built-in Township Challenge, spearheaded by the Higher Bengaluru Growth Authority (GBDA).
In a letter addressed to the Chief Minister Wednesday, Gowda highlighted the potential environmental injury and extreme impression on the livelihoods of 1000’s of small and marginal farmers in Ramanagara district, the place the undertaking is about to amass over 7,000 acres of agricultural land.
In his letter, the JD(S) supremo said, “As you might be conscious, Ramanagara district, positioned close to Bangalore, has already seen vital land acquisition for industrial growth, with industrial zones established in Ramanagara and Kanakapura taluks. Moreover, personal industries have proliferated within the area. The remaining agricultural land helps farmers who depend on dairying, sericulture, horticulture, and agriculture for his or her livelihoods.”
“Most of those farmers are small or marginal landholders from economically deprived backgrounds. Their fields are additionally dwelling to hundreds of thousands of bushes, very important for environmental sustainability. Buying this land for a township undertaking would severely hurt the surroundings and jeopardise the livelihoods of 1000’s of households, probably leaving many younger folks from farming communities unemployed.”
He added, “Moreover, the Karnataka Housing Board and different authorities our bodies have already developed a number of housing tasks within the Bidadi space by buying farmers’ land. In mild of this, I urge the state authorities to rethink and withdraw the present land acquisition course of for the township undertaking to guard the pursuits of those weak farmers.”
The Bidadi Township Challenge, often known as the Higher Bengaluru Built-in Township (GBIT), is a flagship initiative beneath the Bengaluru Metropolitan Area Growth Authority (BMRDA). In response to a preliminary notification issued on March 12, the GBDA plans to amass 7,293.44 acres throughout 9 villages in Ramanagara and Harohalli taluks of Ramanagara district, with an estimated undertaking value of Rs 13,000 crore.
The township goals to create a contemporary “work-live-play” ecosystem, that includes residential zones, industrial parks, industrial hubs, inexperienced areas, and even a global cricket stadium. The undertaking spans 8,935 acres, together with 2,742 acres of financial corridors and buffer zones, totalling roughly 12,844 acres.
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The GBDA, previously the Bidadi Good Metropolis Planning Authority, has secured a Rs 21,000-crore mortgage provide from HUDCO to fund the undertaking, with funds to be drawn as wanted. The authority has proposed a compensation mannequin providing a 60:40 ratio of money and developed land, with a one-year deadline for financial compensation and three years for offering developed land.
The undertaking is predicted to contain minimal rehabilitation, as a lot of the 27 habitations within the space will stay unaffected, although some residents have requested relocation to areas with higher infrastructure.
The Karnataka authorities has additionally expanded the GBDA’s jurisdiction by 92 sq. kilometres, incorporating 22 extra villages to manage progress across the proposed township, simply exterior Bengaluru.
Ramanagara, the house district of Deputy Chief Minister and Bengaluru Growth Minister D Ok Shivakumar, is a focus for this growth and can be being thought-about for Bengaluru’s second airport.
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The affected areas in query embody villages beneath Byramangala and Kanchugaranahalli Gram Panchayats in Bidadi Hobli. They’re dwelling to small and marginal farmers from economically deprived backgrounds.
These farmers have cultivated hundreds of thousands of bushes round their fields, contributing to environmental sustainability. The farmers worry that buying this land may devastate their native ecosystem and render 1000’s of farming households jobless, notably impacting the youth.
Farmers in Bidadi Hobli and close by villages have additionally shaped a protest committee to oppose the undertaking, citing the lack of fertile agricultural land and the menace to their lifestyle. Earlier land acquisitions in Ramanagara and Kanakapura taluks for industrial zones, in addition to housing tasks by the Karnataka Housing Board, have already decreased the accessible farmland within the district, which is adjoining to Bengaluru and hosts quite a few personal industries.
The Karnataka authorities views the Bidadi Township as a vital step in decongesting Bengaluru and selling deliberate city growth. Authorised by the state cupboard on January 30 this 12 months, the undertaking goals to rework Bidadi right into a satellite tv for pc township with sturdy infrastructure. The federal government has additionally declared 1,490.65 acres in Bidadi as a Particular Funding Area forward of the International Buyers Meet in February 2025, signalling its intent to draw industrial and financial progress.