BENGALURU: “If I have my land, I wouldn’t have to be dependent on my children. But these land grabbers are not letting us have our small patch of land. They have bought all the surrounding pieces of land and fenced them off. They are not allowing us any passage to our land,” said Ratnamma, a farmer from Anekal.
Twenty-three cases of land grab in 22 districts were presented before a jury headed by retired Justice Nagmohan Das during a public hearing organized by the ‘Nammoorubhoomi Namagirali, Anyarigallaa (Let our land be with us, and not outsiders)’ Campaign in Bengaluru.
The cases presented brought out the pain of families who have lost their lands. Cases included those related to land acquisition, grabbing of community lands by land mafia, agricultural lands left fallow because of the real estate mafia, acquired lands left unused for a long time and grabbing of lands belonging to Dalits and small farmers by political and influential people.
Land acquired by the Karnataka Industrial Area Development Board (KIADB) earlier has been left unused for years and no industrial activity has been initiated. While acquiring the land, KIADB assured jobs to at least one person from each land-losing family. But since no industrial activities were initiated for decades, farmers who lost their lands have been suffering in the absence of any employment opportunities.
The solar parks established with the involvement of the private sector have also had an adverse impact on agriculture, farmers complained. The jury, which also included Dr A N Yellappa Reddy, Nagesh Hegde, Prof M K Ramesh, Dr A R Vasavi and Renuka Vishwanathan, heard all the cases and will give their judgment after examining all the documents submitted. The judgment will be released at a press meet on September 24.