The BMIC has one of the project as building an expressway between Bangalore and Mysore (about 130 kms). The cost of the project is Rs. 4,000 crores presently (US$ 1 billion, up from the previous costing of US$ 500 million or Rs. 2,000 crores approx). About 7,000 acres of land is required for the Expressway but the proposed land is around 21,000 acres. Why? Tolls collected from the low traffic are not going to pay for the project.About 7,000 acres of the land to be acquired belongs to the Government [i.e, the people of Karnataka] and this will be leased on to NICE at Rs. 10/acre per year (i.e. 20 cents) as a subsidy. There is huge government subsidization for the private land [about 14000 acres] which is being acquired from farmers. NICE will pay compensation to the farmers (after acquisition by the Government) at about Rs. 1 lakh per acre and sell it in their townships at about Rs.5 crores per acre, says Maj.Gen.S.G.Vombatkere of the Mysore Lok Swaraj Andolana. The primary purpose of the additional land is the development of townships along the expressway which includes a Corporate Centre, Commercial Centre, Industrial Centre, Farming and Marketing Centre, Heritage Centre, Agricultural Centre and Eco-Tourism Centre. Income generated from exploiting the real estate so created would pay for the entire infrastructure. While the Expressway will be returned to the Government in 30 years, but the townships would be owned by the developers. The project promoters claim that the development of the townships will help in decongesting Bangalore. What else? Two thirds of the land proposed for acquisition involve prime agricultural lands irrigated by a network of canals. A fair amount of forests and internationally recognised wetlands are going to be lost. The most negative aspect of this project is that it will displace about two lakhs (200,000) people (information provided by NICE), of whom only about 20% will be entitled to compensation on the basis of landholding. The remaining 80% who are landless labourers, artisans and others who are depended on agriculture-related activities, will not be compensated in any manner. The destination of these people is unknown. They will soon end up in urban slums. Even some of the compensated farmers could join them in a few years, once the pittance of monetary compensation they get for their land is all spent., says Vasu, of the Karnataka Vimochana Sanga, a grassroots liberation movement. Based on our analysis, it is clear that both the cost and the scale of displacement are being underplayed by NICE. Whats worse, there is no land for land compensation!! After all this people name the grand old man of Karantaka politics as Anti-development and corrupted! Where as it is opposite of what he has always been projected! He is always for the sake of justice to farmers and hardworking people employed in agriculture! His socialistic principles are unquestionable, it is better people realise lately than never realise this. H D Devegowda is the lone fighter in this cause and his view point is let us develope the state ethically and not deplete the hard earned land of the masses. Thanks, Prajwal Revanna
Posted on: Thu, 31 Jul 2014 09:34:33 +0000
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