BENGALURU: Hundreds of farmers, including women, staged a protest at the Greater Bengaluru Development Authority office premises at ‘kandaya bhavana’, Ramanagara opposing the acquisition of their lands for the Greater Bengaluru Integrated Township (GBIT) project on Saturday.
The farmers from about twenty six villages of Byramangala and Kanchugaranahalli gram panchayat limits of Bidadi hobli picketed Magadi Congress MLA H C Balakrishna at the meeting he had organised to receive the petitions from them. They shouted ‘Our land is our right’, ‘We will not give it..no to township’, and expressed their anguish against the government.
“Since it is the government’s plan, I cannot cancel the project. But I will bring your demand to the notice of the government”, he said. Not convinced, the farmers had a verbal duel with the MLA. While he was receiving the petitions of some other farmers, agitators outside continued their protest.
When he came out the farmers garlanded the green shawl. Breaking into a smile Balakrishna hailed farmers’ protest.Chairman of the Authority G N Nagaraj Ganakal informed that as many as 84 petitions related to various issues related to the land titles, difference in measurement, unaccountable sanctioned lands have been accepted during the meeting.
The GBIT project was first proposed by union minister H D Kumaraswamy of JDS in 2006 when he was the chief minister but the incumbent Congress government took it forward with a decision in the CM Siddaramaiah’s cabinet in February 2025.
DCM D K Shivakumar had claimed that the plan is to develop about 9,000 acres in partnership with the farmers on 50:50 share of the developed area as India’s first and largest AI-powered integrated township. The JDS which changed its stance of late had staged a huge protest against the project several months ago.