Now Reading: Bidadi land acquisition illegal, farmers’ panel says
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Bidadi land acquisition illegal, farmers’ panel says
A farmers' panel led by retired Supreme Court judge Justice V Gopala Gowda has declared the acquisition of nearly 9,600 acres for the proposed Bidadi Township illegal and void from the start.…
The Story in Brief
A farmers' panel led by retired Supreme Court judge Justice V Gopala Gowda has declared the acquisition of nearly 9,600 acres for the proposed Bidadi Township illegal and void from the start. The report, released by Samyukta Horata Karnataka and the Joint Action Committee of Farmers, says the Greater Bengaluru Development Authority lacked jurisdiction under the KUDA Act and that no statutory development plan was prepared.
Farmers have demanded the withdrawal of acquisition notifications and scrapping of the project. The report also alleges violations of the 2013 land acquisition law, including skipped social impact assessments and environmental clearances. It claims the land is fertile, with over four lakh coconut trees and more than 10 lakh other trees, and that the region supplies 1.5 lakh litres of milk daily to Bengaluru.
The Indian Opinion
This report is one side of a fight, and it must not be mistaken for a court order. The panel's legal reasoning about GBDA's powers deserves scrutiny, but so does the project's promised urban growth. Farmers say consent was obtained under fear; authorities will surely dispute that. The real test is whether the state government now orders an independent verification of the report's claims, especially the alleged absence of environmental clearance and social impact studies. Karnataka's high court is the right forum, not the street, to settle this. Will the government defend the acquisition on merits or let the report's allegations stand unanswered? That is the question that matters.
Sources (2): timesofindia.indiatimes.com, deccanherald.com
This story was synthesised by AI from the 2 sources linked above.
Updated: this story now draws on 2 sources.
