BENGALURU: BJP leaders on Wednesday alleged that the state government is acquiring fertile agricultural land despite severe resistance from farmers, for the township project in Bidadi. They urged the government to drop the project and warned that they would take up the issue in the Assembly and Council.
BJP state president BY Vijayendra, Leaders of Opposition R Ashoka and Chalavadi Narayanaswamy, and others visited Bidadi and held discussions with farmers and milk producers who are opposing the project. They accused the state government of misleading the public and failing to address the concerns of local residents.
Vijayendra told reporters that farmers in and around Bidadi have been protesting for many days, but the State government is saying that 80 per cent of farmers are ready to give up their land. “CM DK Shivakumar said Prime Minister Narendra Modi has given his nod, but PM has not. The State government is playing a game. We visited many villages and interacted with farmers, not to play politics but to understand the situation. The government is trying to grab fertile land,’’ he said, and pointed out that wherever farmers face an issue, BJP would stand with them.
Vijayendra alleged that miscreants had called some farmers at night and threatened them. “The CM, who was supposed to stand with farmers, has taken up real estate work. There are other places, let him not take fertile land,’’ he said. He urged the CM not to drag the PM’s name into the controversy.
Ashoka said Bidadi contains some of the most fertile agricultural land in the state. The project would adversely affect farmers, dairy producers and sericulturists. “The region produces around six lakh litres of milk daily and generates substantial income through sericulture and horticulture activities. With the government’s compensation package, farmers will not be able to purchase equivalent agricultural land elsewhere.
The township would ultimately benefit outsiders while local farmers would lose their livelihoods and ancestral properties,’’ he said. Referring to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s recent comments on environmental conservation, Ashoka urged him to visit Bidadi and examine the impact the proposed project could have on agricultural land and the local ecology. He also questioned the need for a new township, claiming that lakhs of plots and flats developed by government and private agencies in Bengaluru remain unsold.