BENGALURU: The political battle over the proposed Bidadi AI-powered township near Bengaluru escalated on Tuesday after CM D K Shivakumar defended the controversial land acquisition, saying the project was initiated during the tenure of former CM HD Kumaraswamy, while asserting that his government was only implementing an existing legal process.The proposed township, spread across around 9,600 acres near Bidadi, about 40km from Bengaluru, has sparked sustained protests from farmers, who oppose the acquisition of what they describe as fertile agricultural land.Addressing the controversy, Shivakumar accused Kumaraswamy and the BJP of being the original architects of the project.“The Bidadi township was being brought by HD Kumaraswamy. He started this acquisition and notified it. He wanted to give the project to DLF. DLF gave about Rs 400 crore, and later took the money back. This project belongs to HD Kumaraswamy and the BJP,” the CM told news agency ANI.Shivakumar claimed the original plan envisaged developing five to six townships, with around 9,000 acres identified in the Bidadi region. According to him, the earlier government had fixed compensation at Rs 25 lakh per acre and issued the acquisition notification.“I have just continued this. I don’t want to withdraw or cancel it because it doesn’t come within my purview. If I denotify it, I will have to be in jail,” he said, arguing that the acquisition process had already advanced substantially.The chief minister also maintained that nearly 70% of affected landowners had accepted compensation and insisted that no farmer was being forced to part with land.“I don’t compel any farmer to give their land. We will continue with Kumaraswamy’s orders. I don’t want to disturb any farmer,” he said.Seeking to reassure protesting villagers, Shivakumar said his government had departed from the earlier plan by ruling out the relocation of villages.“Though Kumaraswamy had ordered that even the villages should be shifted, I have made an order that no villages should be shifted,” he said, adding that the government was considering constituting a committee comprising cabinet colleagues, former judges or legislators to examine the issue and engage with stakeholders.The chief minister also responded to Kumaraswamy’s criticism, saying, “He has said that he will send me to jail. I welcome him. I have seen the jail.”Farmers carrying brooms chased away officialsThe remarks came days after violence erupted during a land survey at Mandalahalli village in Ramanagara district.A 15-member Joint Measurement Committee (JMC) team had reached the village on July 13 to survey lands belonging to four farmers who had reportedly agreed to sell their property for the proposed township.However, neighbouring farmers opposed to the acquisition confronted the officials, alleging they had not been informed about the exercise and demanding answers to petitions they had already submitted.According to officials, tensions escalated after an exchange between a survey official and protesting farmers. The protesters allegedly vandalised official vehicles, while several women farmers chased survey personnel with brooms, forcing them to flee the site. Police later deployed additional personnel, including Karnataka State Reserve Police (KSRP) units, to restore order.The confrontation followed weeks of mounting opposition from local farmers, who argue that the project would result in the loss of productive agricultural land and threaten their livelihoods. The unrest prompted the government to temporarily suspend the survey work.
