Now Reading: Deve Gowda joins JD(S) march against Bidadi land acquisition
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Deve Gowda joins JD(S) march against Bidadi land acquisition
Former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda, aged 93, joined the second day of a JD(S) foot march on Monday opposing the acquisition of farmers' land near Bidadi for the Greater Bengaluru…
The Story in Brief
Former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda, aged 93, joined the second day of a JD(S) foot march on Monday opposing the acquisition of farmers' land near Bidadi for the Greater Bengaluru Integrated Township project. The three-day padayatre, backed by alliance partner BJP, started from Byramangala and is led by Gowda's grandson Nikhil Kumaraswamy. About 9,600 acres across nine revenue and 16 non-revenue villages are needed for the project, though the government so far issued final notifications for over 5,400 acres across seven villages.
Protesters raised slogans accusing the government of promoting real estate interests at farmers' expense. In response, the government appointed a high-level committee chaired by retired High Court judge Justice Guhanathan Narendar to review objections. The project is being touted as India's first AI-powered integrated township. JD(S) says more notifications are expected soon.
The Indian Opinion
The Bidadi march is being played up as a farmers-versus-realty battle, but the real story is more nuanced. The Siddaramaiah government did form a committee under a retired judge to hear objections, yet simultaneously issued final notifications for 5,400 acres. That looks like a fait accompli. Farmers certainly have genuine grievances about losing land for a project billed as an 'AI-powered township', a phrase that sounds more like a marketing pitch than a public good. The test now is whether Justice Guhanathan Narendar's panel actually recommends scaling back the acquisition, or whether it endorses the government's full plan. If the panel returns a whitewash, the protests will only grow.
Source: deccanherald.com
This story was synthesised by AI from the source linked above.
