Representatives of a section of farmers’ organisations from Channarayapatna hobli in Devanahalli taluk met Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Saturday.
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Seeking compensation of ₹3.5 crore per acre, representatives of a section of farmers’ organisations on Saturday met Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and expressed their willingness to give away 449 acres of land in Channarayapatna hobli of Devanahalli taluk on the outskirts of Bengaluru to set up an aerospace park.
This development comes even as farmers, civil society activists, and Dalit leaders have launched a protracted agitation criticising the decision to acquire nearly 1,777 acres of fertile land in 13 villages of Devanahalli for this purpose. The Chief Minister is set to meet the farmers opposed to the project on July 15.
Four conditions
On Saturday, the farmers who met Mr. Siddaramaiah imposed four conditions for the acquisition of land. They demanded ₹3.5 crore per acre and jobs as per the qualification for the children of landlosers. They also demanded that the government should not convert the land into a “green zone”. The other demand was the conversion of land in nearby villages into a “yellow zone”. They also demanded that the acquisition process should be done transparently to ensure hassle-free compensation for landlosers.
Ministers K.H. Muniyappa and B.S. Suresh, Chief Minister’s legal adviser A.S. Ponnappa, and senior officials were among those who attended the meeting. Mr. Siddaramaiah had met Defence Minister Rajnath Singh a few days ago, seeking a defence corridor each for south and north Karnataka.
‘Malicious intent’
Meanwhile, the farmers and their supporters opposing the land acquisition process, released a statement questioning “the malicious intent of the pro-land acquisition team to break the unity of the people” from 13 villages in Channarayapatna hobli. “The people who toil and sweat in the fields are with us,” said Karalli Srinivas, convener of the Channarayapatna Land Acquisition Protest Committee.
“The farmers’ protest against forced land acquisition, which has been ongoing for 1,195 days, has reached its final stage, and Mr. Siddaramaiah has announced that he will declare his decision on July 15,” he said, adding that a section of people stating that they are in favour of land acquisition at this point in time has caused anxiety among genuine protesters and farmers.
Published – July 12, 2025 09:40 pm IST
