Consent row deepens over Bidadi Township land acquisition: GBDA says 90%, farmers cry foul
Farmers in the Bidadi region are disputing official government data claiming 90% consent for the Greater Bengaluru Integrated Township land acquisition project. Landowners allege the data is manipulated to weaken opposition, while authorities maintain that many supporters are simply choosing to remain silent.
Why it matters
This highlights the ongoing tension between large-scale infrastructure development and land rights, reflecting broader challenges in urban planning and government transparency in India.
The Greater Bengaluru Development Authority’s (GBDA) official data shows that more than 90% of the farmers in three villages near Bidadi, notified by the government for the Greater Bengaluru Integrated Township (GBIT) project, have consented to part with their land.
However, farmers claim that the data has been rigged.
Last month, the GBDA issued a 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 is farmland.
According to the data, of the 367 landowners in Kempayyanapalya, 357 have consented to give up their land. In Mandalahalli, 23 of the 26 landowners have agreed to part with their land, while in Vaderahalli, 53 of the 63 landowners have consented to the project.
However, Nagaraju M.R., a landowner in Mandalahalli, dismissed the data as “manipulated” and countered it with his own statistics.
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