A ‘Work-Live-Play’ township vs. farmers

Nanna bhoomi, nanna hakku – bhooswaadina virodhi raithara horata, indige 440 ne dina, work a connection connected a blackboard hung connected a rod astatine Byramangala Circle connected the Bidadi-Harohalli Road, astir 40 km from the centre of Bengaluru.

May 24 marked the 440th time of the farmers’ agitation against the government’s notification to get 7,295 acres of farmland successful Bidadi. It is portion of the 9,640 acres of onshore dispersed crossed 9 gross and 17 non-revenue villages identified for processing the “Work-Live-Play” Greater Bengaluru Integrated Township Project, popularly known arsenic the Bidadi Township Project. The authorities claims it volition beryllium developed into India’s archetypal AI-powered city.

The project, however, has faced beardown opposition. Since March 2025, erstwhile the Greater Bengaluru Development Authority (GBDA) – the task implementing authorization – issued a preliminary notification for acquiring farmers’ land, astatine slightest 10 farmers person remained astatine the protestation tract astatine each times each time to show their non-consent to the acquisition.

“We person submitted our representations opposing the onshore acquisition to the Chief Minister, Deputy Chief Minister, and adjacent the Commissioner of GBDA, but nary of them person visited the tract adjacent erstwhile till today,” said Nagaraju M.R., a farmer, portion sitting his location successful Mandalahalli and talking to The Hindu.

On the different hand, D.K. Shivakumar, who is spearheading the project, tipped-off to beryllium the adjacent Chief Minister of the State, claimed that 80% of the landowners successful the country are acceptable to portion with their land.

According to the law, successful immoderate task involving onshore acquisition, if the authorities receives consent from 80% of the stakeholders, it is permitted to instrumentality the project, and the remaining stakeholders volition person to widen their consent.

Shivakumar besides said the last notification would beryllium issued by June 30 and the task would proceed. For those opposing the project, the compensation magnitude would beryllium deposited successful court, helium said.

However, authoritative documents from the GBDA amusement that aft the preliminary notification, the authorization received 1,383 objections. Among them, astir 1,147 complainants attended the hearing, and aboriginal 503 complainants extended consent, leaving astir 600 to 700 radical inactive opposing the project.

The protesting farmers allege that the GBDA is misleading the nationalist by understating the existent numbers. The radical is preparing to determination tribunal arsenic soon arsenic the task begins.

Meanwhile, the protesters person intensified their agitation. Across the villages, boards carrying the slogan “Jeeva Kottevu, Bhoomi Kodalla”, meaning “We whitethorn springiness our lives, but not our land”, tin beryllium seen.

The standoff 

In 2006, erstwhile H.D. Kumaraswamy was the Chief Minister, the authorities notified the lands to make 5 integrated townships astatine Bidadi, Sathanur, Ramanagara, Solur, and Nandagudi. Bidadi Township was taken up arsenic a aviator task nether the PPP model, but was stalled owed to section opposition. The country was subsequently declared a reddish zone, meaning nary commercialized enactment could beryllium undertaken there.

Following the task being revived by Shivakumar, Kumaraswamy and erstwhile Prime Minister H. D. Deve Gowda person been opposing it, arguing the farmers are being cheated, starring to a governmental standoff. This has turned the substance into a governmental standoff betwixt 2 elder State leaders, which volition lone intensify with Shivakumar each acceptable to beryllium the Chief Minister. Kumaraswamy has challenged Shivakumar to an unfastened statement connected the issue, which the second has accepted. But the protesters constituent retired that Shivakumar should alternatively prosecute with them instead. 

‘Building tomorrow’s Bengaluru’

The projected township astatine Bidadi is portion of a larger program to make Bengaluru Rural and Bengaluru South districts, astir Bengaluru Urban district, to instrumentality successful the adjacent question of investments and improvement coming to Bengaluru. Shivakumar besides championed the determination to rename Ramanagara territory arsenic Bengaluru South district. 

The peculiar intent conveyance spearheading the Peripheral Ring Road, Bengaluru Business Corridor Ltd., incorporated nether the contiguous Congress regime, has a tagline: “Building Tomorrow’s Bengaluru.”

Peripheral Ring Road (PRR) and Satellite Township Ring Road (STRR) – 2 large roads coming up – signifier 2 concentric circles astir the metropolis and each the recently planned improvement is coming up on these 2 roads. The 2nd planetary airdrome for the metropolis is besides expected to travel up successful the aforesaid belt. 

The authorities is moving to found 4 work-live-play/walk-to-work townships successful this belt, the Bidadi township being biggest among them. While Bidadi is being developed arsenic an AI city, determination is simply a Knowledge, Wellbeing and Innovation (KWIN) City dispersed implicit 5,600 acres coming up betwixt Doddaballapur and Dobbspet, connected by STRR and nationalist highways, Startups, Workspaces, Innovation, Finance and Technology (SWIFT) City dispersed implicit 1,000+ acres successful Sarjapur-Anekal belt, connected by PRR and Metro Phase 3 and a smaller successful standard Quantum City adjacent Hesaraghatta. 

In addition, 35 metres on the roadworthy carriageway of PRR volition beryllium developed commercially and Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) plans to make 11 residential layouts, with absorption connected vertical improvement on the road. 

Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board has already got an support for Cauvery VI Stage to supply Cauvery stream h2o to towns astir Bengaluru. 

A elder authoritative spearheading 1 of these projects said that the State’s Beyond Bengaluru argumentation to propulsion investments to tier-2 cities has not yielded satisfactory results, and Bengaluru was inactive the astir sought aft destination for investment. “Bengaluru is saturated and we cannot springiness industries lands successful the city. Likewise, nudging them to tier-2 cities has meant we person mislaid immoderate investments to neighbouring States. This has forced the authorities to make a caller portion astir Bengaluru for expansion,” helium said. 

V. Ravichandar, subordinate of Brand Bengaluru Committee, said Bengaluru was a magnet of endowment excavation which was not the lawsuit with different cities successful the State. “While the desirable attack is to make our tier-2 cities with societal infrastructure to pull a endowment excavation successful the agelong term, the pragmatic attack was to spell for planned improvement successful a loop astir the city,” helium said. 

A elder municipality planner, who did not privation to beryllium named, said a survey showed that  each census municipality successful India, without exception, was increasing beyond its municipal limits and Bengaluru had 1 of the fastest maturation rates successful this region. “South Eastern parts of Bengaluru saw unplanned improvement similar this 25 years agone and we inactive look its consequences. When specified maturation is simply a reality, it is amended to spell for spatially planned improvement of areas astir Bengaluru alternatively of leaving it to the marketplace forces,” she said, adding Noida was a amended illustration arsenic to however specified planned townships tin connection amended cities. 

But volition a Bengaluru of this standard beryllium viable? Experts argue, it volition beryllium Bengaluru Region, connected the lines of National Capital Region (NCR), with aggregate governance bodies. There are recommendations made to the authorities to marque Greater Bengaluru Authority’s (GBA) footprint that of Bengaluru Metropolitan Area (BMA) – 1,200 sq km, and Bengaluru Metropolitan Planning Committee’s footprint that of Bengaluru Metropolitan Region Development Authority (BMRDA) – 8,000 sq km. 

Land acquisition hurdles 

The biggest impediment to immoderate of these plans is hurdles successful acquiring land. Bidadi township and PRR person been stalled for 20 years implicit the aforesaid hurdles. The incumbent authorities was forced to driblet notification to get 1,777 acres of onshore of Aerospace and Defence Park successful Channarayaptana, Devanahalli, besides successful the aforesaid belt, pursuing virulent absorption by farmers there.

While the protests person been from section farmers till date, sources said husbandman unions and different organisations that gave their enactment to the Devanahalli run are each acceptable to articulation the locals successful Bidadi, which is expected to intensify the resistance.

However, farmers are divided implicit whether agriculture was profitable successful the belt. 

The protesting farmers reason that they are receiving bully yields and are susceptible of generating bully profits connected their own. Bhyrappa, 60, a husbandman from Byramangala, explained that silk, coconut, and arecanut yields person remained consistent. Nearly 90% of the families are engaged successful dairy farming, which serves arsenic a unchangeable root of income.

The reddish portion classification turned retired to beryllium a blessing successful disguise. “After the announcement of the reddish zone, we did not person galore options different than making a surviving from the aforesaid land. So, the villagers explored irrigation and due cultivation methods, which person been effective. Villagers person retained their lands adjacent present due to the fact that we could not merchantability the land,” said Nagaraju.

However, Nataraj Ganakal, Chairperson of the GBDA, claimed that authoritative documents amusement that much than 1,200 acres of onshore are present owned by residents of Bengaluru city

Guruswamy, 53, a husbandman from Thyamappanadoddi who has consented to portion with his land, claimed that galore among the protesters are farmers who are besides chiefly progressive successful the existent property business. When asked wherefore helium had consented to springiness up his land, Guruswamy said, “The contamination of the Vrushabhavathi has severely affected harvest yield, and determination is hardly immoderate nett aft concern due to the fact that cultivation costs are high. Primary crops specified arsenic coconut person failed to make due yield. Those surviving adjacent the water portion are uncovering it hard to turn anything,” helium said.

“Why should my children suffer? I tin get bully compensation, physique a location successful the city, and put successful farmland elsewhere. I tin supply my children with a bully acquisition and unrecorded peacefully without changeless conflict and hardship,” helium explained.

Rejecting claims that retaining the onshore was not profitable, villagers amusement a bundle of payslips. A reappraisal of the slips showed that galore families consistently merchantability silk, which presently commands a bully marketplace price. They merchantability silk each 22 days and gain adjacent to ₹40,000 each cycle. Besides, they beverage cows doubly a time and gain astir ₹40,000 done dairy farming. In addition, coconut, arecanut, jowar, vegetables, and fruits supply a important root of income for these farmers.

One of the reasons wherefore galore farmers person agreed to portion with their lands is that compensation is being provided nether the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency successful Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013. This offers them an charismatic ₹2 crore per acre oregon tract successful the caller township. In a first-of-its-kind measure, the authorities has besides promised livelihood enactment from the day of the last notification until monetary compensation is paid oregon developed sites are handed over. Landowners are expected to person fiscal assistance ranging from ₹25,000 to ₹50,000 depending connected the benignant of land.

A mode of life 

But the older farmers are not acceptable to springiness up agriculture. “Agriculture is each we know. At 60, should I spell and enactment successful a factory? Will they adjacent prosecute me?” helium questioned. “We bash not privation their money. We request our land, wherever we tin proceed to enactment each day. We cannot simply instrumentality wealth and beryllium idle astatine home,” Bhyrappa said. 

Responding to suggestions that they could bargain onshore elsewhere, Nagaraju said that adjacent villages would not merchantability land, particularly aft learning that a township was being developed successful the region, arsenic onshore prices would skyrocket. “If we determination to immoderate faraway place, we volition besides person to permission our villages behind, which means losing our identity,” helium said.

Similarly, Susheelamma, 60, from the aforesaid village, is an autarkic pistillate who earns her livelihood done dairy farming. She said determination are respective women similar her who person nary thought what they volition bash erstwhile onshore acquisition begins. Many of these women bash not ain land, but they ain cattle.

The societal drift

All these villages are presently successful a authorities of uneasy ceasefire. People who were erstwhile friends oregon relatives nary longer spot each different due to the fact that they person taken opposing positions connected onshore acquisition. Prakash H.G., different farmer, explained that adjacent siblings person fought implicit disagreements related to onshore acquisition. 

While aggregate narratives beryllium astir the issue, it is besides existent that galore radical are aligning themselves with the presumption taken by the governmental enactment they support.

Will it beryllium antithetic this time? 

Yelahanka and Kengeri were erstwhile developed arsenic outer towns for Bengaluru. Since then, determination person been galore proposals for outer townships astir Bengaluru. Even the NICE corridor had specified townships planned, but ne'er materialised. Kumaraswamy planned 5 specified townships, including Bidadi, but they made nary progress. The incumbent authorities is present readying 4 work-live-play townships. With Shivakumar each acceptable to beryllium Chief Minister the task is lone expected to summation momentum, but the authorities implicit it besides acceptable to intensify.