The Hindu : Karnataka News : Chickaballapur farmers feel let down

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Saturday, Jul 18, 2009
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Karnataka

Karnataka

Chickaballapur farmers feel let down

K.V. Subramanya

CHICKABALLAPUR: Hundreds of small and marginal farmers from Chickaballapur taluk, whose lands had been acquired for widening National Highway-7 and construction of a bypass are feeling cheated on learning that the State Government had purchased lands at Rs. 50 lakh an acre for a housing project in Shidlaghatta taluk of the district.

After several petitions to the Government and courts and, a series of agitations over the years, these farmers were recently awarded a compensation of Rs. 20 lakh an acre by the Chickaballapur district administration. Most of them are yet to receive the money from the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) which acquired their lands.

What angered farmers was that while Rs. 20 an acre had been fixed for their land adjoining the National Highway, the Government paid Rs. 50 lakh an acre for lands purchased by the Karnataka Housing Board (KHB) in the remote areas of the neighbouring Shidlaghatta taluk.

Chickaballapur Deputy Commissioner Anwar Pasha fixed a compensation of Rs. 20 lakh an acre during arbitrations. At the District Land Purchase Committee meeting chaired by Mr. Pasha on January 23, the land value for the KHB’s project was fixed at Rs. 42 lakh an acre. Later, the KHB at a meeting on February 16 increased the amount to Rs. 50 lakh, according to copies of the documents available with The Hindu.

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