BENGALURU: The High Court of Karnataka on Tuesday recorded the state government’s assurance that it will not take possession of the lands belonging to farmers in Hosur village until compensation is determined under the ongoing land acquisition proceedings for the proposed Greater Bengaluru Integrated Township Project at Bidadi in Bengaluru South District.
A writ petition was filed by 14 farmers of Hosur village questioning the acquisition of their agricultural lands for the proposed township project. The petitioners have contended that the authorities have failed to comply with the mandatory provisions of the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013, before initiating acquisition proceedings.
Appearing for the farmers, advocate MH Prakash argued that the statutory requirements under the 2013 Land Acquisition Act were not followed before issuing the acquisition notifications.
During the hearing, Justice R Nataraj questioned the state government whether the mandatory provisions of the 2013 Land Acquisition Act had been complied with before proceeding with the acquisition.
Advocate General Shashi Kiran Shetty, appearing for the state, submitted that several other landowners had consented to the acquisition and that an exemption had been granted under Section 10A of the 2013 Act. However, the court questioned whether the exemption under Section 10A could be invoked for a rural housing or township project.
The Advocate General further informed the court that compensation had not yet been determined and that the government would not take possession of the petitioners’ lands until compensation was fixed.