Karnataka won’t force farmers to give land for Bidadi township, assures CM D K Shivakumar

2 min readBengaluruUpdated: Jul 15, 2026 08:20 PM IST

D K Shivakumar announced that a committee will review the township project amid protests and political opposition (File photo).

The Karnataka government will not force farmers to give up their land for the Greater Bengaluru Integrated Township (GBIT) project, Chief Minister D K Shivakumar said Wednesday, announcing the formation of a committee in the coming days to review the project.

Popularly referred to as the Bidadi township project, the proposed GBIT in two grama panchayats in the Bengaluru South district has come under scrutiny amid protests. Addressing a news conference, Shivakumar alleged that the protests were “politically motivated” and were causing considerable problems. “It is a conspiracy to mislead farmers,” he said.

His news conference at Vidhana Soudha was in response to the one held a day earlier by former prime minister and Janata Dal (Secular) leader H D Deve Gowda, who had demanded that the state government withdraw the project.

GBIT, he said, was a project that began during Union minister H D Kumaraswamy’s tenure as chief minister in 2006 and was continued by successive governments. “I am telling the farmers and women that the government doesn’t need to acquire land forcibly. If anyone is willing to sell land, they can do it as notification (for land acquisition) is issued already,” he said.

Responding to JD(S) allegations that Shivakumar was pushing real-estate interests, the chief minister said that when the township was first proposed in 2006, orders were issued to evict entire villages.

“Kumaraswamy handed over the responsibility of the township to the real-estate company DLF, and even collected Rs 400 crore from them…. Who wrote to DLF asking them to pay a security deposit and sign an agreement within 15 days?” Shivakumar asked, adding that Kumaraswamy’s move was not in the interest of real estate.

The modalities of the committee to review the project and who will head it will be finalised in the Cabinet meeting, Shivakumar added.

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On GBIT being considered his pet project, CM Shivakumar said, “Never have I said that this project is my dream project. I haven’t laid the foundation for this… I have only continued the decision taken by many chief ministers and industries ministers.”