Close on the heels of declaring 1,777 acres of land in 13 villages of Devanahalli taluk as “Permanent Special Agricultural Zone”, after shelving the proposed acquisition of this land for an aerospace park, the government has clarified that declaring it as a zone will not affect farmers’ freedom to sell their land.
“Farmers retain full freedom to sell their land — there are no restrictions whatsoever,” clarified S. Selvakumar, Principal Secretary, Department of Industries. He urged farmers not to be misled by rumours, confusion or false narratives.
Dr. Selvakumar’s clarification comes in response to reports claiming that farmers’ rights to sell their land had been curtailed.
In a release, he said: “Farmers from these 13 villages expressed their desire to continue with agriculture. The government responded positively and honoured its commitment. Any claim that this decision causes hardship to farmers is untrue. Our intention is to prevent real-estate misuse of agricultural land and stop developers from exploiting farmers.”
He said: “Originally, this land near Devanahalli had been proposed to be acquired for establishing an aerospace park. However, considering the farmers’ request, the government has withdrawn the acquisition plan and reserved the area exclusively for agriculture. That said, if any farmer voluntarily wishes to sell their land to the government, they remain free to do so — and will be compensated based on the Land Price Determination Committee’s decision. However, there is no requirement that the land has to be sold only to the government.”
