Karnataka farmers seethe over great land heist

A sense of betrayal pervades Bandi Kodigehalli in the backwaters of Bangalore city. Residents of the village, near the Bengaluru International Airport (BIA), are seething with rage over the devious means adopted by real estate sharks to deprive them of their land.

Bandi Kodigehalli is now in the eye of the land scam involving IT&BT minister Katta Subramanya Naidu’s son, corporator Jagadish. An IT firm allegedly owned by Jagadish’s kin is said to have got the land acquired from the villagers by the Karnataka Industrial Areas Development Board (KIADB).

Every villager has a story of betrayal to tell. KM Krishna, who works in the parking lot of BIA, recalls how two years back real estate brokers arrived at his doorstep in droves. The brokers painted a picture of doom before his father and others. They said their lands would be acquired soon by the KIADB to establish an IT Park and the farmers would get only a pittance in return.

The brokers first paid the farmers, most of them Dalits, money ranging from Rs1 lakh to Rs2 lakh, saying that the government had given them the same, Krishna said. Later, they took away various documents like cultivation certificates and pahanis (record of rights, tenancy and cultivation), saying that they needed them to block the acquisition.

A few months later, the farmers came to know that their lands had been acquired by the KIADB and some other individuals had collected compensation of up to Rs31 lakh for every acre. Most of these farmers, however, continue to cultivate the lands to this day.
Ramanjanappa, a resident of the village, who tried to raise his voice against the brokers, was assaulted by a few unidentified men. He later lodged two complaints with the Bagaluru police.

Finally, Ramanjanappa complained to the Lokayukta, which resulted in investigations that ended in the scam coming to light. Jagadish’s attempts to bribe Ramanjanappa boomeranged and the corporator was later arrested by the Lokayukta police.
Ramanjanappa has moved out of his village, while his mother, Akkayamma, still tends to the family land. The police have provided security to Akkayyamma, who stays alone in the village.

The villagers see hope in the turn of events. “We are ready to lay our lives to defend our land,” Munivenkata Ramana, a youth, said. Patendrappa said 2 acres and four guntas of his land had been acquired but he got only Rs1.5 lakh as compensation. “I am illiterate. Some brokers told me to sign some documents. I did so blindly,” he lamented.