AI township: Shivakumar offers Rs 3 crore-plus per acre as JD(S)-BJP padayatra begins

Chief Minister DK Shivakumar on Sunday renewed the government’s offer of Rs 3 crore or more per acre to landowners willing to part with their land for the proposed AI township near Bidadi, as a three-day JD(S)-BJP padayatra against the project began.

Shivakumar, in a video message, said farmers who do not want cash compensation could instead opt to receive 50% of their land in the form of developed plots. He also reiterated that the government would not force landowners to surrender their properties.

The offer comes amid an intensified political campaign led by Union minister and JD(S) state president HD Kumaraswamy, who has opposed the township and accused the Congress government of threatening farmers’ landholdings. Kumaraswamy represents neighbouring Mandya in the Lok Sabha.


JD(S) youth wing president Nikhil Kumaraswamy and Opposition leader R Ashoka (BJP) led the padayatra on Sunday as JD(S)-BJP workers marched towards Bengaluru, seeking to mobilise farmers against the project.

Shivakumar said the government intends to develop the proposed township as a modern AI hub that would create job opportunities for local youth. He also urged the Opposition to raise its concerns in the state legislature rather than conducting protests outside.

Under the proposed compensation arrangement, landowners can choose between cash compensation or developed plots equivalent to half of the land acquired, the CM said.

Shivakumar also sought to clarify that landowners who do not hand over their properties to the government would continue to hold them under the existing land-use restrictions. Such parcels would remain in the red zone, meaning they will remain farmland.

The proposed township, estimated to cost more than Rs 18,200 crore, requires about 7,481 acres spread across nine villages in the Bidadi-Ramanagara and Harohalli areas of Bengaluru South district. The project is part of the state government’s broader push to create an AI-focused urban and technology hub and attract investments in emerging technologies.