Bengaluru: Former Member of Parliament and Congress leader D.K. Suresh Monday said that the primary goal of the Greater Bengaluru Integrated Township (GBIT) at Bidadi is to make farmers stakeholders in the mega project rather than just provide high compensation for loss of land.
“Those whose lands are not valued very high, we will ensure that a minimum of Rs 1.5 crore per acre is given. The DC (deputy commissioner) and government will review it and award it. Our main objective is not to give money but to make farmers stakeholders in the project,” Suresh, brother of Karnataka Dy CM D.K. Shivakumar, told reporters Monday.
The statements come a day after the Janata Dal (Secular) or JD(S) joined farmers in their agitation against the project. Led by Nikhil Kumaraswamy, the JD(S) started an indefinite protest in Byramangala village in the erstwhile Ramanagara district. The district was renamed Bengaluru South by the Siddaramaiah-led Karnataka government in May.
The JD(S), under former Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda and his former chief minister son, H.D. Kumaraswamy, have vehemently opposed the move and everything that has come after.
Shivakumar has been actively promoting the project as the country’s first AI-powered smart city in Bidadi and the “future of Bengaluru” even though the existing infrastructure has faced intense criticism in the last few weeks.
India’s First AI City is Coming!
The Greater Bengaluru Integrated Township (GBIT) will redefine urban living – an AI-powered smart city built on a Work • Live • Play model.
✅ 2,000+ acres dedicated to AI & tech industries
✅ Lakhs of jobs with locals-first employment policy… pic.twitter.com/J4k2IahmpL— DK Shivakumar (@DKShivakumar) September 5, 2025
Even as the agitation continued to intensify, Suresh said the project was started by H.D. Kumaraswamy, the union cabinet minister and former Karnataka CM, implying that the current Congress government was merely taking the township forward. Shivakumar and Kumaraswamy have had heated exchanges over the project.
But there is more to it. Bidadi, where the project is proposed, is located in the heart of Karnataka’s Vokkaliga belt. Both Shivakumar and Kumaraswamy draw their political strength from these parts, which adds another layer of intensity to the dispute.
‘Real estate’
When Ramanagara was renamed Bengaluru South district in May, it renewed the decades-old rivalry between Shivakumar and the Gowdas.
For long, Kumaraswamy has accused Shivakumar of exploiting farmers to benefit from the booming land prices in these parts.
The union minister said that Shivakumar has been coercing farmers into selling their land and warned the Dy CM that the agitation would intensify if the government did not drop the project.
The two have had fierce exchanges on the issue with both taking turns to accuse the other of misappropriation during their terms.
Kumaraswamy’s son, Nikhil, is leading the charge in Kumaraswamy’s absence.
On Monday, Nikhil said that the DK brothers were “creating a web of lies” to deflect attention.
“Kumaraswamy’s project was based on public partnership. Yours is a real estate partnership and a desperate attempt to amass wealth. Every step you take is suspicious,” Nikhil said on X.
” @DKSureshINC ಅವರೇ,
ಪದೇಪದೆ ಸುಳ್ಳು ಹೇಳುವ ಚಾಳಿ ಏಕೆ ನಿಮಗೆ? ಬಡ ರೈತರ ಜಮೀನು ಕೊಳ್ಳೆ ಹೊಡೆದು ಕೋಟೆ ಕಟ್ಟಿಕೊಳ್ಳಲು ಇಷ್ಟೆಲ್ಲಾ ಸುಳ್ಳಿನ ಕಥೆ ಕಟ್ಟಬೇಕೆ?ನಿಮಗೆ ಮಾಹಿತಿ ಕೊರತೆ ಇದ್ದರೆ ಇನ್ನೊಬ್ಬರನ್ನು ಕೇಳಿ ತಿಳಿದುಕೊಳ್ಳಿ.
ಬಿಡದಿ ಟೌನ್’ಶಿಪ್ ಬಗ್ಗೆ ಹೆಚ್.ಡಿ.ಕುಮಾರಸ್ವಾಮಿ ಅವರು ಯಾವುದೇ ವಿಷಯವನ್ನೂ ಮುಚ್ಚಿಟ್ಟಿಲ್ಲ… pic.twitter.com/0suUaZjwDE
— Janata Dal Secular (@JanataDal_S) September 29, 2025
The JD(S) has maintained that the government is misleading the public with claims that out of the 9,000 acres, nearly 3,000 to 4,000 acres was already owned by the government. The former CM said that, in fact, less than 700 acres is government-owned.
Its political ally, the BJP, too has opposed the project.
“The land acquired for development in Bidadi was abandoned by H.D. Kumaraswamy. We too had abandoned that project. Now, D.K. Shivakumar has brought back this project to make money through real estate,” R. Ashoka, the leader of the Opposition said Monday.
The project
The Karnataka government approved the GBIT which will involve acquiring about 9,000 acres outside Bengaluru. Ramanagara has a sizable farming population and a large chunk of manufacturing companies as well, including Japanese car maker, Toyota and German automotive major, Bosch.
In 2006, representatives of the car makers’ workers union asked for a residential township but it never fructified, according to one former employee of the company. Shivakumar said that the company has requested 300 acres of land for the same. But it wasn’t immediately clear if the company had made the request or the workers union.
But the DyCM has said that the priority was to build a township based on the Japan model.
Shivakumar, who additionally holds the Bengaluru development portfolio, has tried to push for big-ticket ventures like Tunnel Road, double-decker flyover and other infrastructure projects to decongest Bengaluru. The GBIT is an extension of the same objective.
“We want to make a good township (and) decongest Bengaluru,” Suresh reiterated.
Shivakumar said that the government is offering between Rs 1.5-2.5 crore per acre of land. The government has also tabled an alternative compensation model which includes 50 percent developed land per acre and also an annual sustenance allowance ranging from Rs 30,000 to 50,000 depending on the type of land—from the date of the notification to the date of developed land handover.
According to Shivakumar, nearly 78 percent of the farmers have consented to land acquisition but the JD(S) and BJP are opposing the project based on the few who are opposing it.
The GBIT is built around a ‘Work-Live-Play’ model which will have over 2,000 acres dedicated to AI & tech industries, 950 acres of green buffers, lakes & parks, zero-traffic corridors connecting STRR, NICE Road & Metro.
But this promise of an AI-powered city is being viewed with caution.
On Monday, Siddaramaiah held a meeting regarding problems providing electricity and water connection to buildings constructed within the jurisdiction of the Greater Bengaluru Authority and other parts of the state.
Bengaluru’s deteriorating infrastructure and dipping quality of life has attracted more attention than its advancements in technology, aviation, startups or talent pool.
To address these challenges, the city corporation was divided into five smaller corporations. But there are concerns that with Bengaluru’s challenges not being resolved, Bidadi is more likely to be an extension of the same problem rather than a solution.
“There’s no money to fill potholes in Bengaluru, but a smart city in Bidadi? First, put some soil in the potholes on the roads, then talk about the rest,” Nikhil said.
(Edited by Viny Mishra)
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