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If 9 villages successful Bidadi are acquired for the AI-powered township project, astir 2 lakh trees volition person to beryllium felled to facilitate the development.
These see 83,536 arecanut trees, 87,903 coconut trees, 12,550 mango trees, and 3,06,506 banana plants, successful summation to 2,344 chikoo trees, astir 2,500 roseate plants, respective custard pome trees, and silk fields. The country volition besides witnesser the demolition of jackfruit, ragi, paddy, reddish gram, cowpea, tract bean, corn, groundnut, and equine gram crops. The biggest interaction volition beryllium connected ragi cultivation, which is dispersed crossed 231 acres.
This is according to information sourced from an authoritative reply to an RTI query by a famer to the Horticulture Department, Bengaluru South District, a transcript of which is with The Hindu and valid arsenic of February, 2026.
The protesting farmers pointed retired that not lone the large-scale demolition of greenish cover, but besides the nonaccomplishment of the prime of beingness that farming has provided them.
Pointing to the data, Nagaraju M.R., a husbandman protesting against the project, questioned the government’s claims that farmers successful the portion are suffering losses from agriculture and that determination is nary request for the crops grown there. “Which farmers who are suffering losses proceed to turn specified a wide assortment of crops? The numbers unsocial suggest however farmers successful this portion are thriving,” helium said.
Mr. Nagaraju’s implicit 10-acre landholding successful Mandalahalli, 1 of the 9 gross villages earmarked for acquisition, has been included successful the caller last notification gazette. Nevertheless, helium has continued to protestation against the project.
However, a elder Greater Bengaluru Development Authority (GBDA) authoritative maintained that harvest yields from villages successful the portion are not readily accepted successful markets. “Because of the polluted Byramangala Lake, harvest prime is affected, creating a wide aversion among traders. They (farmers) are hardly making immoderate profit, and the protests are purely political.”
Compensation
According to the GBDA documents, the authorities is besides compensating farmers for each histrion grown connected their land, with minimum and maximum rates fixed for each variety.
For example, for a coconut tree, compensation has been fixed astatine a minimum of ₹25,000 and a maximum of ₹40,000. For mango trees, the limits person been acceptable astatine a minimum of ₹45,000 and a maximum of ₹65,000 per tree.
The GBDA authoritative told The Hindu that officials from the Horticulture Department would find the compensation amount. “The section volition cipher however overmuch compensation should beryllium paid for each histrion based connected criteria established earlier the project. Officials volition survey the trees earlier fixing the price,” the authoritative said.
The criteria that the section volition see see the property of the tree, its lifespan, output capacity, ungraded fertility, erstwhile output figures, projected output potential, and the nett that the histrion is susceptible of generating for farmers.
Loss of greenish cover
Yashavantha T., State wide caput of Karnataka Prantha Raitha Sangha (KPRS), pointed retired that the greenish screen successful Bidadi has a important affirmative power connected Bengaluru’s upwind and serves arsenic an indispensable greenish abstraction that is present nether threat.
“Ironically, Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar has extended enactment to Rahul Gandhi, who is starring a run against environmentally destructive projects successful different parts of the country. However, present successful Karnataka, wherever they are successful power, they are pursuing likewise eco-destructive projects,” helium told The Hindu.
Amid the statement implicit the nonaccomplishment of greenish cover, farmers are besides highlighting the societal interaction of the project. They reason that those whose lands are acquired volition beryllium near without immoderate means for cultivation. They besides alleged that the implementing bureau has avoided conducting a societal interaction appraisal of the project.
