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Farmers still have the option of taking 50% developed land

By Editor

Posted on June 18, 2026

Farmers still have the option of taking 50% developed land

Bidadi : MLA Balakrishna said the Opposition BJP and JDS were opposing the Bidadi Township project as they can’t digest D K Shivakumar becoming the CM.

“The land acquisition process was under way even when Siddaramaiah was the CM. Some farmers were opposing it back then too. So why didn’t Kumaraswamy and R Ashok fight for these farmers at that time? They are opposing the Bidadi township project now because they cannot tolerate D K Shivakumar being Chief Minister and they want to corner him politically,” Balakrishna hit out while speaking to reporters at a resort near Bidadi.

When asked about a BJP delegation having visited Bidadi to protest against the township, he said: “When Jagadish Shettar was the minister, he acquired 1,000 acres of land. At the time, I held a press conference and questioned him as to why he was acquiring only 1000 acres while leaving the rest of the land in the red zone area. But the farmers of that area did not question him at the time.”

“When we submitted an appeal to Yediyurappa, we spoke with Yediyurappa and Vijayendra at the CM’s home office. Vijayendra then called us aside and said, ‘Don’t protest. We will get you a good price legally. We are thinking of bringing aeronautics-related industry here. Please cooperate.’ That is what he told me. If he wishes, Vijayendra himself should state whether he said this or not,” he revealed.

Opportunistic politics by the BJP
“If they want to oppose D K Shivakumar politically, let them do so — I have no objection. But Vijayendra supported the project back then, how is he opposing the project today? If the BJP had been so inclined to stop the project back then, couldn’t they have scrapped this project? Today they have come to oppose it for political reasons. This is nothing but opportunistic politics,” he retorted.

“This project was not started by D K Shivakumar, but by Kumaraswamy. After our government came to power, the project was set in motion because the farmers appealed to either remove the red zone or provide compensation. This is not a project undertaken after D.K. Shivakumar became CM. I am ready to discuss this matter with Vijayendra,” he said.

When asked whether the land in question was the 1,000-acre township land itself or land outside it, he said: “It is the township land. Along with the 1,000 acres within the township limits, they have acquired another 1,000 acres adjacent to it. At that time, compensation of Rs 90 lakh to Rs 1 crore per acre was given. It has been only four or five years since then. The JD(S) leaders who are now fighting against this project received compensation from the government back then. Now they are agitating against the Congress government implementing the project,” he stated.

When asked whether it was agricultural land, he said: “In Bidadi, most of the area no longer remains agricultural land. Plots have been carved out. Had Kumaraswamy not declared it a red zone, by now all of this would have fallen into the hands of the real estate mafia. Because of the red zone, the land cannot be converted, so it has remained agricultural land. Go and look at the surrounding panchayats — everything has become layouts. Why did Kumaraswamy not scrap the project or de-notify it when he was in power?”

Did the BJP have no awareness of this when they were in power?
When asked about R Ashok’s allegation that the land would be used for investments and not for residential use once it is developed, he said: “Shouldn’t they have had this awareness when their own government was in power? When I was protesting, couldn’t they have responded? Even though the farmers of this area appealed to Ashok to raise this matter in the Belagavi session, he did not discuss it,” he said.

Why did Ashok not raise it in the session?
When pointed out about Ashok’s justification that the session was meant to discuss North Karnataka problems, he said: “Isn’t this also a farmers’ problem? If he had raised this issue, would anyone have opposed him? After the Belagavi session, there was a session in Bengaluru too. The Governor’s joint session and the budget session were also held. If he had the will, why did he not raise this matter in those sessions?” he questioned.

When asked whether he would go ahead with the project despite farmers’ opposition, he said: “There are farmers here who want the project, and there are farmers who don’t. Those who want the project will reportedly hold protests soon, demanding their money as quickly as possible. Farmers don’t want the project to be shelved because of political fights. A majority of the farmers have agreed to give their land; we will persuade the farmers who haven’t agreed and implement the project,” he said.

Compensation fixed for farmers above market value
When told that people were saying the compensation had been reduced, he said: “A compensation of only Rs 1.5 crore per acre had been fixed. The Deputy Commissioner, citing various Supreme Court orders, increased it to ₹2.5 crore. The farmers had accepted this compensation. By law we are required to pay three times the SR value as compensation. But our government is paying five to six times more,” he said.

When asked whether it was possible to implement the project given that this government’s term is two years, he said: “Some people have spread such false propaganda that the government has no money to pay compensation, that they will acquire the land and then abandon it, that they will leave the farmers in limbo. But we have explained the source from which we will fund this project. Then some spread the false propaganda that we would evict the entire village. We clarified that we will not evict anyone. Then they spread the false propaganda that we would evict the landless people; we have assured that we will give compensatory sites even to the landless farmers living there. In these various ways they are working to mislead,” he said.

Why did BJP not scrap the project during Yediyurappa’s time?
When asked about the BJP leaders’ statements that they would cancel the project if they came to power, he questioned, “Couldn’t they have cancelled it when Yediyurappa was in power? When we met Yediyurappa and submitted our appeal, couldn’t they have cancelled it then? They are playing politics.”

When asked about Kumaraswamy’s criticism over posters being put up in Bidadi, he said: “That has nothing to do with us.”

Farmers have the option of taking 50% developed land
When asked about Kumaraswamy’s criticism that Shivakumar had not given up his old habits even after becoming CM, he said: “I myself have shown the video in which Kumaraswamy promised to give the people of this area 40% developed land as compensation. If the compensation amount for the farmers is low, they need not take the money we will give them 50% developed land instead. Then they will get more than today’s market price. We are not pressuring anyone to take only cash compensation. We have increased the cash compensation so that small farmers may benefit. About 80% of the farmers are seeking developed land as compensation,” he said.

BJP and JD(S) Vokkaliga leaders cannot tolerate Shivakumar being CM
When asked whether they could not tolerate Shivakumar being Chief Minister, he said: “Especially the leaders of other parties from our own community cannot tolerate it. They thought that Siddaramaiah would never give up power under any circumstance and Shivakumar would not become CM. They thought the Congress would be ruined by internal squabbling. They cannot tolerate the fact that Siddaramaiah, with a big heart, has handed over power,” he said.

We do not need the votes of MLAs from other parties
When asked about all the MLAs being at the Bidadi resort, he said: “Since there is preferential votes involved in tomorrow’s council elctions, a mock voting is being conducted. We will leave here at 8 am tomorrow morning,” he said.
When asked about the news that they had lured four JD(S) MLAs, he said: “There is no need to do that. With the votes we already have, we can successfully get our fifth candidate elected,” he stated.