Consent dispute deepens over land acquisition in Bidadi Township: GBDA says 90%, farmers cry foul

Official data from the Greater Bengaluru Development Authority (GBDA) shows that more than 90% of farmers in three villages near Bidadi notified by the government for the Greater Bengaluru Integrated Township (GBIT) project have agreed to share their land.

However, farmers claim that the data has been manipulated.

Last month, the GBDA issued the final notification for Kempayyanapalya, Mandalahalli and Vaderahalli covering 519 acres of land. A total of 9,640 acres of land will be acquired for the project, of which 7,200 acres are agricultural land.

According to data from 367 landowners in Kempayyanapalya, 357 agreed to give up their land. In Mandalahalli, 23 out of 26 landowners agreed to subdivide their land, while in Vaderahalli, 53 out of 63 landowners agreed to the project.

Farmers refute

However, Nagaraju MR, a landowner in Mandalahalli, dismissed the data as “manipulated” and countered it with his own statistics.

According to Mr. Nagaraju, seven members of his family together own 36 acres in Mandalahalli, while the remaining land, consisting of much smaller plots, is owned by others.

“None of my family members agreed to the project. So who are these 23 landowners who agreed? Moreover, more than 60% of the land is owned by seven people who did not agree to the project. Then how did they achieve 80% agreement to the project in my own village?” he asked.

The farmer alleged that the data is not only manipulated but is also being used to demoralize the protesters. Yashavantha T., state general secretary of the Karnataka Prantha Raitha Sangha (KPRS), said various methods were used to weaken the resolve of the protesters, including the initial distribution of compensation checks to seven farmers through local MLAs.

VillageTotal farmers Agreeing farmers Kempayyanapalya367 357Mandalahalli26 23​Vaderahalli6353

Source: Greater Bengaluru Development Authority

“Those who agreed are silent”

However, a senior GBDA official claimed that several farmers who have agreed to the project are not speaking out or expressing their support in the villages due to the ongoing protests in the area.

“But they reached out to us,” the official said.

The officer said most of them want the compensation to be released as soon as possible. “Even the MLA for Magadi HC Balakrishna met the land owners last week and the prevailing demand was that the compensation be released at the earliest,” the officer said.

“People trying to buy agricultural land elsewhere are asking for the compensation process to be expedited so that they can invest and secure property in other villages. But the process is cumbersome and takes time,” the officer added.

As part of the debate, the farmers did not provide data on the number of dissenting landowners, nor was the GBDA’s data based on written consent. GBDA data is based on verbal consent and also does not have written consent from all farmers.

Compensation yet

Talking about the compensation process, the officer said that compensation worth ₹150 crore was released on Saturday. About 92 people opted for cash compensation, 25 for land compensation and 10 chose a combination of cash and land compensation.

The officer said GBDA also provides compensation for crops and trees.

The couple, Shanthamma and Venkatesh, who own 3.20 acres of land, are set to receive ₹1.26 crore for their crop alone.

“They have maintained the fields and trees very well. The assessment done by the horticulture department has shown that the crops have strong future potential and will generate substantial profits,” the officer said.

As the compensation process continues, a GBDA official told The Hindu that a draft final notification for three more villages has been sent to the government for approval and is likely to be published and issued within the next week.

Published – 12 Jul 2026 18:27 IST