Protests over land acquisition for tech park: CM Siddaramaiah to hold talks again on July 15 with farmers

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Friday announced he would hold another round of talks with farmers on July 15 on their demands for dropping acquisition of land to build technology parks in Devanahalli taluk near the Bengaluru international airport.

The government issued a final notification to acquire the land in April and there are legal hurdles to meet the demands of protestors. The government will study the pros and cons and come back to protestors after exploring the legal possibilities, Siddaramaiah said in a statement.

The CM said he was part of the Raitha Sangha (a farmers’ outfit) and as someone who believes in democratic values, he has never attempted to quell a protest. At the same time, he cannot do anything outside of the law now.


Farmers of Channarayapatna hobli in Bengaluru rural district have been on a protest seeking to stall the acquisition. Industries Minister MB Patil had, two weeks ago, announced that the government would spare 495 acres of land from the acquisition process, and not all.

The previous BJP regime had, on August 27, 2021, issued a preliminary notification proposing acquisition of 1,772.2 acres of land from 13 villages in Channarayapatna hobli. Patil, the industries minister, had said last month that the process of acquiring the remaining 1,232 acres of land will go on as planned before.