Bengaluru: Land acquisition woes continued to plague the govt with the ambitious Greater Bengaluru Integrated Township (GBIT) project in Bidadi, designed to be India’s first AI-powered city, being the latest to be embroiled in political controversy. JD(S) has joined hands with farmers protesting land acquisition and is pushing for the project to be scrapped. Located just 30km from Bengaluru, the govt had envisioned GBIT as a sprawling 9,600-acre township and had planned for it to become the state’s next central business hub. The development plan follows a work-live-play model, featuring a 300-metre-wide business corridor connected to major highways to facilitate seamless traffic flow. Of the total land to be acquired, 2,000 acres have been set aside specifically for AI-based industries and ancillary units. But local politics is overshadowing the grand vision. Farmers from 24 villages in Byramandala and Kanchanahalli gram panchayats are opposing the acquisition, while deputy chief minister DK Shivakumar has emerged as the main target of JD(S). Shivakumar met with farmers last week in an attempt to allay concerns. He had claimed that Union minister HD Kumaraswamy and former MLA Anitha Kumaraswamy had applied for compensation, with Anitha willing to offer her 38 acres for the project. However, JD(S) youth president Nikhil Kumaraswamy launched a stinging attack on the deputy CM, insisting that his parents had never conceded to the project. “Shivakumar is trying to mislead farmers and drive a wedge in their unity with his misleading statements,” Nikhil said. “Our family has never accepted this project and there is no question of parting with land.” Congress functionaries countered this by accusing JD(S) of hypocrisy, pointing out that it was Kumaraswamy that had originally proposed the GBIT project during his tenure as CM, and that his govt had notified land acquisition back in 2007. Dr CN Manjunath, BJP MP from Bengaluru Rural and Kumaraswamy’s relative, admitted that the Kumaraswamy govt had indeed conceived the project but had dropped it due to opposition from farmers. “It is true Kumaraswamy had envisioned the project but it was abandoned as the govt realised then that it would destroy the entire ecosystem of agriculture and biodiversity of the area,” Manjunath said. “The land the govt is looking to acquire is fertile and richly irrigated. It would be a violation of law if the govt acquires this land since the law states at least 50% of the land should be barren.” He said if the govt has any concern for farmers, it should drop the project just as Kumaraswamy’s govt did.
