Badagalpura Nagendra, secretary of the Rajya Raitha Sangha told reporters that the order becomes subjudice as the BMIC issue was still being heard at the apex court.
The Government was acting against the farmers’ interest by issuing the order for acquisition of land. In and around Bangalore, market rate of an acre of land is above Rs two crore. But, the implementing agency NICE and the Government has fixed a mere Rs 88,000 per acre of land, Nagendra remarked.
Moreover, they alleged that the people belonging to NICE took the ryots for a ride, subjecting them to humiliation and atrocity to part with their land. The farmers should be compensated according to the market value of the land, he added.
“The farmers will not part with their land unless they were paid a fair compensation. Raitha Sangha always opposes any kind of townships along the BMIC corridor belt. We still oppose it and let the Government shelve the township project,” the ryot leader said.
When asked about JD (S) supremo H D Deve Gowda’s campaign against the NICE and BMIC project, ryot leader Najunde Gowda ridiculed that it was Deve Gowda who signed the basic agreement with NICE during his tenure as chief minister. He is not opposed to the fundamental agreement with the NICE which promises 21,000 acres of land. But, he is opposing allotment of more land probably because he and his family may lose vast tracts of land around Bangalore,” he said.
Delhi chalo
Nagendra informed that about 2,500 farmers from Karnataka will attend Delhi chalo rally in New Delhi on March 9 to press for various demands like withdrawal of Seed Bill.
The governments anti-farmer policies have resulted in threat for food security of the country. The crash in prices of silk have left the sericulturists worried across the state as Government has neglected the local producer of silk and gave importance to the imported silk goods, he said.