How Karnataka's Farmers Are Defying Land Grab in Bangalore Suburb

The Hindu

02-07-2025

Published : Jul 02, 2025 21:41 IST - 8 MINS READ
For the past 1184 days, 'Wiring' Pillappa, a 70-year-old sericulturist from Mattabaralu village in Devanahalli taluk of Bengaluru Rural district, has been waking up every morning to head to Channarayapatna, a larger village some 5 km away.
Channarayapatna is around 13 km away from the toll booth on National Highway 44 that marks the end of the 35 km stretch that is commonly known as the Airport Road in Bengaluru. Take the ramp on the left after the toll booth and the road heads to Kempegowda International Airport but continue straight for another couple of kilometres from the toll booth and take a right.
After a short ride, one reaches a clutch of government offices in Channarayapatna as the village is the headquarters of the hobli (a cluster of villages recognised as an administrative unit).
What grabs the attention of a visitor is a white canopy amid the lack-lustre government offices and the many banners and pictures of B.R. Ambedkar and Gandhi that festoon the frail walls of this canopy. Pillappa can be usually found in this canopy between 9 am and 5 pm and he said that people had affixed 'Wiring' to his name because he was handy with electrical work.
'What will happen to my children'
Pillappa's two acres of land were identified by the Karnataka Industrial Area Development Board (KIADB) in August 2021 as part of an attempt to notify the acquisition of 1,777 acres of land located in 13 villages in Channarayapatna hobli. Over the next few months, as the significance of this proposed notification began to sink in among the families whose lands were identified, there was intense discomfort and outright opposition as they contemplated the dreaded proposition of having to part with their family lands.
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At the beginning of 2022, farmers began their protest and burnt the notices that they had received from KIADB. On April 4, 2022, an indefinite protest—which is marked daily by changing the day of the protest on a black slate—against the proposed acquisition began in Channarayapatna, which continues to this day. As part of this, Pillappa comes every day, sits under the canopy for at least 8-10 hours before heading home. 'If my land is taken away, what will happen to my four children? Even if the government offers me Rs.10 crores per acre, I am not going to give away my land', Pillappa said.
The KIADB intends to acquire the land as the future site of a proposed high-tech Defence and Aerospace Park. According to Ramesh Cheemanahalli, a resident of the village of Cheemanahalli, which is one among the 13 identified villages, 'this is the second phase of land acquisition in Devanahalli taluk. The first phase took place in 2014 where 1,280 acres was acquired from four villages'.
Considering the area's proximity to the Kempegowda International Airport, land prices have risen considerably in the area, but what was startling to note was the comprehensive agricultural nature of the region from where the airport is a mere half an hour away. Small and marginal farmers are present in all 13 villages who practise integrated farming: Meaning that they grow a plethora of agricultural and horticultural produce on small fertile parcels of their land and supplement their incomes with dairy and poultry farming. They have taken advantage of their closeness to the large market of Bengaluru to benefit when compared with other farmers in the rural hinterland who do not have that same advantage.
Mukunda C.R., 45, of Polanahalli village lost his 12.5 acres of land to the first phase of land acquisition in Devanahalli taluk but filed a case against the KIADB and the case is ongoing in the Karnataka High Court. He proudly showed off his land of which eight acres were dedicated to mango trees while a poultry farm flourished in the remaining area. 'I make at least Rs.15 lakhs annually from my poultry farm. Why should I give away my land?' Mukunda asked piquantly.
Pramod Kumar, 34, of Polanahalli village who owns six acres of land along with his extended family said, 'We have had this land for five generations. We grow marigold flowers and vegetables'. When asked why he was against his land being acquired by the KIADB, Kumar gave a short answer: 'Peace of mind.' He added, 'Our family makes around Rs.12 lakhs per annum but we are satisfied here. The joy that we find in this life is very important to us'.
On the way to his marigold fields, the integrated farming approach of the villagers in the region became evident: Compact parcels of land cultivated with different crops such as sweet corn, grape, cabbage, banana, a variety of greens, tomato among others.
The experiences of past farmers who gave away their land in the first phase of acquisition weighed heavily on the protesting farmers. Pramod Kumar said, 'The farmers who lost land in the past are now earning a living as agricultural labourers or factory workers making a mere Rs.15,000-Rs.20,000 monthly. They are regretting their decisions now.'
Jagadish Devanna of Polanahalli was one of these farmers who parted with two acres of his land in 2018 as part of this first phase of land acquisition. 'I wish I could take back my decision', he said, adding, 'We (he and his siblings) were promised Rs.1.1 crore per acre but I had to pay commissions to KIADB officials even to receive this amount and we finally received only Rs. 80 lakhs per acre in 2020, which was divided among our family members. I have become a coolie [agricultural labourer] now because of my circumstances.'
There is also anger against the Congress and Chief Minister Siddaramaiah personally because the protesting farmers consider him as a betrayer. In September 2022, Siddaramaiah had assured the farmers that he would withdraw the KIADB notification when the Congress came to power; But, instead, his government continued the process first initiated under the previous BJP government.
Parvathamma, a marginal farmer in Mattabaralu village who cultivated ragi on 27 guntas [40 guntas make an acre], unleashed a slew of invectives against the Chief Minister. 'When will Siddaramaiah stop torturing us? Why did he go back on his promise? I don't want any money. I just want my land as only the sky and land are permanent elements. How many days will I spend money? I will not leave this land even if I die'!
Remarkable longevity
The ongoing protest has been remarkable for its longevity as it has already been three-and-half years since it began. It is also interesting because it has brought together farmers across caste lines in this region, which was known for its social stratification. Even till a few years ago, the Vokkaligas, who are the dominant farmers in the region, were resentful of Dalits because 500 acres of land was granted to them in Channarayapatna hobli in the 1970s as part of the land reform legislations that took place in Karnataka under the Chief Ministership of Devraj Urs.
But, the impending fear of their lands being acquired has brought all farmers together under the leadership of Karahalli Srinivas, a Dalit farmer. 'Even if the government threatens us with a gun, we will not be cowed down', Srinivas told Frontline while commenting on the nature of the State government itself: 'What is the government but an entity constituted by the people? It cannot be a representative only of corporates'.
Minister for Large and Medium Industries, M.B. Patil, attempted to placate the farmers last week by announcing that land would not be acquired from three villages (of the 13 villages) and that the State government would not acquire any land in the future from Channarayapatna hobli but this offer has done nothing to change the determination of the protesting farmers.
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Responding to Patil's offer, Noor Sridhar, president of Karnataka Janashakti—which is part of a broader alliance of civil society groups called Samyukta Horata Karnataka that are supporting the farmers' protest—responded to Patil's offer thus: 'This is a struggle for life and livelihood of farmers who have been using honest means to save their land. If this struggle lacked substance, there would have been a rift among the villagers when Patil excluded the land of three villages from the acquisition process. But, even today, farmers from those excluded villages are participating in the struggle every day. The industries minister should understand this point that it is illegal to acquire fertile agricultural land from farmers.'
A meeting of the Karnataka cabinet is slated to take place today (July 2) where the vexed issue could be discussed. Members of the Samyukta Horata Karnataka and the Land Acquisition Resistance Committee of Channarayapatna have promised to escalate their protests if the government did not drop its idea of acquiring land in Channarayapatna.
In the lead-up to the Karnataka Cabinet meeting on July 2—held in Nandi Hills, a short distance from Devanahalli—farmers had called on the government to officially withdraw the acquisition plan. The Cabinet, which was expected look into the matter, took no decision.
A meeting is now scheduled between the farmers and Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on July 4. Members of the Samyukta Horata Karnataka and the Land Acquisition Resistance Committee of Channarayapatna have made their position clear: if the government refuses to back down, the protests will escalate.