Bagalkot: Farmers in Upper Krishna Project area whose lands will be acquired for the UKP third phase are eying the outcome of Tuesday’s special cabinet meeting to be held at Bengaluru.The meeting has been convened to discuss the price fixation for the lands to be acquired to complete the UKP third phase work, which includes raising the height of Almatti dam across Krishna River. The farmers are expecting the cabinet to fix a uniform price for the land to be acquired.The govt is expected to respond on Tuesday to the demand for Rs 50 lakh per acre for irrigation and Rs 40 lakh per acre for dry land that will be submerged. As many as 73,030 acres of land are to be acquired in the UKP-3 phase, and the farmers are moving the court as the consent award has not been announced yet. Not only is there a delay, but the project cost is also increasing year by year, which is a headache for the govt.The previous govt led by Basavaraj Bommai had fixed Rs 24 lakh per acre for irrigated and Rs 20 lakh for dry land. The project-affected farmers did not agree to this.Recently, in a meeting held in Bengaluru under the chairmanship of DCM Shivakumar, it was mentioned that the officials had suggested Rs 35 lakh per acre of irrigated and Rs 25 lakh for dry land as compensation price. When the people’s representatives of this area, including minister Thimmapur, opposed it, the decision was left to the CM as he handles the finance department. CM Siddaramaiah had announced that the ministers would hold a meeting of Congress MLAs and convene a special cabinet meeting. Accordingly, the meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, so the govt is expected to announce the land rate during the meeting.Bilgi MLA JT Patil expressed confidence that the CM will announce the price that the farmers will agree to.If this is part of the submergence, on the other hand, in the case of land suitable for rehabilitation acquired by NA, Rs 3.5 crore per acre will have to be paid in the courts, and according to the new Land Acquisition Act, double that, that is, Rs 7 crore.“If we add the interest so far, a total of Rs 22 to 23 crore per acre will have to be paid. Since this issue is a big challenge for the govt, it is to be seen how it tackles the issue,” said a farmer leader.
