State govt acquiring land for future needs?

Court takes government to task over 1,069 acres of land being acquired when the requirement for Aerospace project was only 35 acres

The state government is once again under fire for land acquisition, as the High Court gave it a dressing down yesterday over acquiring private land for industrial purposes, including the Aerospace project at Devanahalli.

The court reminded that the project only required 35 acres of land and wanted to know why 1,069 acres had been acquired and for whom.

Hearing a petition from landowner Mukhtarunissa, Justice D V Shailendra Kumar lashed out at the state government for failing to furnish details regarding land acquisition.

The petition contended that the state government, through Karnataka Industrial Area Development Board (KIADB), acquired over 1,000 acres for the Aerospace programme. Kumar observed, "The government has failed to produce the relevant documents except for details pertaining to the meetings." He reminded the government that the court possesses the power to cancel the notification if the government does not come up with a proper explanation.

The court was upset over the incident and questioned why the acquisition details were being kept secret. "The SC has said that defense and intelligence department operations must be secret, but what is happening here?" the court quipped.

'What's going on?'
Pointing out that the requirement for the project was just 35 acres, the court wanted to know why 1,069 acres of land has been acquired and for whom.

When the State submitted that it has acquired the said amount of land to meet future demand, the court refused to buy the argument saying that the acquisition is irrelevant and irrational and the KIADB has been formed to help the government to bypass the system.

On a submission by the State that a high level committee has been formed to look into the details, the court said, "It is typical bureaucratic jargon. The government is having fun at the cost of the people and is disturbing them from their properties."

'At gunpoint'
Describing this as arrogance of power, the court said, "The plan is yet to take off, but you have already acquired land for the future. If the Rs 320 crore meant for compensation is given to farmers, they would have benefited."

When the government submitted that the land has been acquired for significant companies, the court said, "The government has no concern for those losing their land, but is acquiring their land at gunpoint."

The Government claimed that the acquisition was aimed at making former President A P J Abdul Kalam's vision 2020 dream come true to which the court retorted, "You are using Kalam for your gain and building castles in the air."

Challenged
The petitioner has challenged the acquisition of 1,069 acres of land in Dummanhalli, Singahalli, Hunasuru, Jannahalli, Khadimmanahalli and nearby villages in Bengaluru North and Devanahalli taluks. The KIADB had issued the preliminary notification on January 9, 2007 and final notification on May 17, 2007.

The petitioner had contended that the land acquired is not for public purpose, but only to help private parties.