‘I am also a farmer’s son; I understand your pain’: K’taka CM Shivakumar gives compensation to Shivaram Karanth Layout landowners
Bengaluru: Karnataka Chief Minister, D.K. Shivakumar, on Monday said he understood the pain of farmers losing their land and assured landowners who had parted with their property for the Dr K. Shivaram Karanth Layout that the government would make every effort to ease their hardship. CM Shivakumar said this while distributing compensation to landowners and farmers who had given their land for the layout at Nehru Planetarium in Bengaluru.
“I am a farmer’s son and we too have a long history. I understand the pain a farmer goes through when he loses his property. My intention is to reduce that pain,” Shivakumar said while distributing the compensation.
Chief Minister Shivakumar said the Karnataka government had been making efforts to provide compensation for the past three years, but legal proceedings had delayed the process.
“Applications had been invited three years ago to provide compensation. However, due to a court stay, compensation to landowners of the Shivaram Karanth Layout was delayed. When we were preparing to invite applications for site allotment, the court imposed a stay. This resulted in a loss of around Rs 1,000 crore every year to the government,” Chief Minister Shivakumar said.
Chief Minister Shivakumar said successive governments had contributed to the development of residential layouts and infrastructure around Bengaluru.
Recalling the development of Bidadi, he said former Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda had planned an industrial township there and acquired land from farmers after discussions with them, paying around Rs 5-6 lakh per acre.
He said former Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy had later issued a notification for a township at Bidadi and proposed a Japan township at the same location, but the plan was dropped following opposition.
“Arkavathy, Kempegowda Layout and Shivaram Karanth Layout have all come up. All governments have contributed to the development of layouts around Bengaluru,” Shivakumar said.
He announced that the names of around 3,200 farmers who had provided land for the Shivaram Karanth Layout would be inscribed on a “Wall of Gratitude” to recognise their contribution.
Shivakumar said the Shivaram Karanth Layout had gone through several years of legal and administrative challenges.
“Disputes arose over the Arkavathy and Kempegowda layouts. The process for the Dr K. Shivaram Karanth Layout also went through several legal and administrative hurdles. Around Rs 16,000 crore has been invested in developing the layout,” he said.
He said land acquisition-related cases had gone through the Karnataka High Court’s single-judge Bench and Division Bench before eventually reaching the Supreme Court.
“Based on the directions of the courts and government orders, the BDA continued with the land acquisition and development of the layout,” Chief Minister Shivakumar said.
The Chief Minister said the government could provide around 42 per cent of sites in the layout, compared with up to 55 per cent generally provided by private developers, because of the investment made in roads and public infrastructure.
Chief Minister Shivakumar said the government had made arrangements to provide landowners developed sites equivalent to 40 per cent of the acquired land.
Chief Minister Shivakumar said Bengaluru had witnessed massive population growth, putting considerable pressure on its infrastructure.
“Except for areas such as Malleshwaram, Chamarajpet, Jayanagar and parts of Indiranagar, most of Bengaluru was not developed as planned layouts. There are hardly any 100-foot roads. Bengaluru’s population, which was around eight lakh when Kengal Hanumanthaiah was Chief Minister, has now grown to around 1.5 crore,” he said.
He said nearly 60 lakh people commute to Bengaluru every day, while people from neighbouring areas such as Kolar, Ramanagara, Channapatna, Tumakuru, Magadi, Kunigal, Maddur and Mandya had moved to the city in search of jobs.
Around 11 lakh people from northeastern states had also come to Bengaluru seeking employment, he said, adding that the city had around 1.4 crore vehicles.
“Roads, however, have remained largely the same. It is not possible to widen roads by demolishing buildings on either side,” Chief Minister Shivakumar said.
Taking an indirect swipe at his political opponents, Shivakumar said the preliminary notification for the Shivaram Karanth Layout was issued in 2008.
“Before I came, the BDA was known as the ‘Broker Development Authority’. The preliminary notification for the Shivaram Karanth Layout was issued in 2008 itself. Farmers had to face situations where they were allegedly forced to pay bribes when they lost their land,” Chief Minister Shivakumar said.
He questioned leaders who described themselves as “sons of farmers” over why the notification had been issued during their tenure.
“Those who call themselves ‘sons of farmers’ had issued the notification in 2008. It happened during their tenure. Do they not have the courage to speak about it now?” Chief Minister Shivakumar asked targeting Deve Gowda.
Shivakumar urged beneficiaries not to sell the sites allotted to them.
“This programme has been organised so that farmers do not have to run from pillar to post or pay bribes. Those who have sought sites on their own land are being given sites there itself,” he said.
“But do not sell these sites. Everyone faces difficulties in life. You cannot imagine how much the value of these sites will increase in the future,” Chief Minister Shivakumar advised.
Chief Minister Shivakumar said the layout had been developed over around 3,700 acres, with sites covering nearly three crore square feet being allotted to farmers.
Chief Minister Shivakumar said the government was developing the Bengaluru Business Corridor with a loan of Rs 26,000 crore to reduce traffic congestion and added that the government had proposed a revised compensation mechanism for farmers whose land was acquired for BDA projects.
Under the proposal, landowners could receive compensation at twice the guidance value, double TDR, 35 per cent of the land as commercial sites, FAR, or 40 per cent of the developed land, Chief Minister Shivakumar said and added the package was among the highest compensation mechanisms in the country.
Chief Minister Shivakumar also said tenders had been invited for the Peripheral Ring Road and that work was progressing up to Kogilu for which around 80 per cent of the land acquisition had received consent, adding that completion of the road would significantly increase property values.
Chief Minister Shivakumar also announced a programme to plant at least one crore teak saplings every year saying the state government would provide the saplings, while farmers would maintain them.
“The programme has been designed with a 25-year horizon. The price of teak is around Rs 7,500 per square foot. Of the profits generated, 70 per cent will go to farmers and 30 per cent to the government,” Chief Minister Shivakumar said.