BENGALURU: Farmers from Ramanagara district, who depend on agriculture, horticulture and dairy farming, are apprehensive that they could lose their rich, fertile land to the 435-km Chennai-Bengaluru-Mysuru Bullet Train project.
The district administration is taking steps after the National High-Speed Rail Corporation Ltd (NHSRCL) requested the deputy commissioner to provide revenue maps of 28 villages, which are likely to be affected, to prepare the detailed project report.
The NHSRCL has informed the DC that the consultancy services for the project has been handed over to private agencies and that the DC should provide necessary assistance to these agencies.
In turn, the district administration has written to the grama panchayats, along with the details of the survey numbers of lands to be taken for the corridor, the extent of land and owners of those lands.
The personnel involved with the project are visiting the villages and collecting Aadhaar cards of farmers, who are likely to be affected. The project team is also informing the villagers that a railway line could pass through their lands. After the DPR is prepared, the preliminary notification will be issued for the acquisition of lands, sources said.
“We have seen about three proposed alignments marked in and around our villages. But we are now worried as it is said that the line marked on our land is the one that is being finalised for the project. We will get a compensation for the land, but what can we do if our main livelihood of agriculture is gone,” said a resident of Kudluru village in Channapatna taluk. He pointed out that hundreds of acres of farmlands, on which coconut, mulberry, banana, paddy, ragi, mango, etc. are grown will be lost to farmers.
Another resident said there is a silver lining among people in the district because the groundwater table has recharged because of a lake-filling project and villagers are involved in agriculture, horticulture and dairy. Those who have large parcels of land will not be affected by families who have more than a piece of land may not be worried if some parcels of their land is gone for the project but those who have only a piece of land will be severely affected, he added.
Villages likely to be affected
Talakuppe, KG Bheemanahalli, Belakempanahalli, Bananduru, Badadi, Kenchanakuppe, Kallugopanahalli, Kempanahalli, Mayagondanahalli, Kethohalli, Basavanapura, Kotthipura, Shidlakallu, Acchalu, Acchalu state forest, Vibhuthikere, Bommanahalli, Brahmanipura, Thagachagere, Thimmasandra, Sunnaghatta, Honganuru, Kudluru, Hottiganahosahalli, Chakkere, Kuranagere, Chakkaluru and Kukkuru.
Work done do far
Desktop study work and further preliminary route development have been completed in January 2023
Stakeholder discussion; other activities (Environment Impact Assessment Report, etc.) have been completed and alignment has been finalized in May 2023
Light Detection and Ranging survey and alignment design and balance activities are under way