Bengaluru, July 6 (IANS) Senior BJP leader and Leader of the Opposition in the Karnataka Legislative Assembly, R. Ashoka, on Monday urged the state government to stop acquiring agricultural land for industrial and housing projects and instead utilise barren land or shift major development initiatives to North Karnataka.

Addressing farmers protesting against the Karnataka Industrial Areas Development Board (KIADB)’s proposed land acquisition at Sarjapura in Anekal taluk on the outskirts of Bengaluru, Ashoka alleged that the government was unfairly targeting farmers despite legal setbacks to the acquisition process.

The BJP leader also suggested that the government should focus on promoting industrialisation in North Karnataka instead of concentrating development around Bengaluru.

He argued that such a move would ensure balanced regional development while reducing pressure on the state capital.

“Instead of repeatedly acquiring fertile land in and around Bengaluru, the government should encourage industries in North Karnataka. This will create employment opportunities in backward regions and prevent the destruction of agricultural land,” he said.

He claimed that the KIADB was forcibly acquiring farmers’ lands and pointed out that although the acquisition had earlier been quashed by the court, fresh notices were once again being served to landowners. According to him, many of the affected families own only small holdings and depend entirely on agriculture for their livelihood.

Ashoka said the Sarjapura region is known for cultivating mulberry for sericulture as well as vegetable crops, making the land highly fertile and unsuitable for industrial development.

He maintained that industries should be established only on barren or non-cultivable land and not on productive agricultural fields that support thousands of farming families.

Ashoka alleged that the state government was aggressively promoting layouts around Bengaluru without considering the environmental consequences. He warned that large-scale urban expansion would lead to the depletion of groundwater resources and adversely affect lakes and other water bodies in the region.

He further noted that the Bengaluru metropolitan region already houses numerous industries, IT companies and manufacturing units, while also facing severe traffic congestion and infrastructure stress. Establishing more industries in the same region, he said, would only aggravate these existing problems.

Launching a political attack Ashoka alleged that the government’s primary objective behind developing layouts was to earn commissions.

According to him, layouts proposed in areas such as Bidadi and Sarjapura were intended to serve as “fund-raising layouts” for the ruling party rather than genuine development projects.

Ashoka also alleged that the government was indifferent to the concerns of farmers and made a controversial claim that it was more interested in issuing voter identity cards to “Bangladeshi residents” to secure electoral support than protecting the interests of local cultivators.

Referring to the ongoing farmers’ agitation, the Opposition leader condemned the police action against protesters and said farmers should not be subjected to force while protesting to protect their land and livelihoods.

He assured the agitating farmers that the issue would be raised during the forthcoming session of the Karnataka Legislature and said the BJP would continue to oppose what it described as the government’s anti-farmer land acquisition policies.

–IANS

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