The protesting farmers alleged that Large and Medium Industries Minister Murugesh Nirani had been issuing misleading statements on the farmers’ consent for acquisition. The farmers said they won’t allow acquisition “at any cost.”
Mundaragi Taluk Abhivruddhi Horata Vedike President Y N Goudar said that no farmer in the region had ever agreed to part with land for compensation or a job, as claimed by Nirani.
“Nobody on behalf of the Government or the Minister has contacted the farmers to discuss the issue, till today. Whatever Nirani has said is a blatant lie. We oppose land acquisition and are firm in our stand,” he said.
Goudar said that the lands proposed for acquisition were the most fertile in the region. The 6,000 acres notified for acquisition are the only plots where three crops - jowar, cotton and wheat - are grown simultaneously. The lands come under the command area of Singatalur Lift Irrigation Project, now nearing completion. The proposed acquisition for industrial purposes would defeat the very objective of the irrigation project, besides displacing more than 250 families, he said.
Goudar said he apprehended that the proposed steel and gas-based power plant in Mevundi would pollute the nearby water bodies. The people of the region depend entirely on tanks for potable water. The industries would harm the vegetation in Kappatagudda, he said. Kappatguddda, located just 13 km from the proposed project site was recently declared as protected zone for conservation of medicinal plants. Later, the farmers submitted a memorandum to Special Land Acquisition officer Mahatesh Bilagi.