Reddys wanted one airport for themselves

Reddys’ plan for a new greenfield airport to allegedly benefit themselves and some big land owners in Chaganur and Siriwara villages was put on hold thanks to a court’s stay order.

Acting on a writ petition filed by 78 farmers in the area, the circuit bench of the high court in Dharwad had stayed the acquisition of 300 acres of land by the Karnataka Industrial Area Development Board (KIADB) for the airport project.

All arguments were completed in February this year and the court is expected to pronounce its judgment anytime soon. The farmers alleged that the government acquired more land than required for the airport because the Reddy brothers owned ‘benami’ lands near the airport.

A new airport would send land prices soaring and bring development to the area to benefit Bellary brothers and their associates, said Mallikarjuna Reddy, convener of Chaganur-Siriwara Neeravari Bhoomi Rakshana Samiti.

Besides farmers, people too had questioned the need for constructing a new airport since there are already two airports in the district — one in Bellary city and the other at Toranagal, 35 km away from the city. They argued that the fertile land in Chaganur and Siriwara villages should not be wasted for such a project. If the land was spared, farmers could carry on with agricultural activities on their land.

But these arguments did not stop Reddys from going ahead with their plan. G Janardhana Reddy, then minister for tourism, said a new airport was necessary for Bellary at a time when the district was emerging as a steel hub with many entrepreneurs keen on setting up industries there.

A feasibility report given to the Infrastructure Development Corporation Karnataka Ltd further gave a push to the project. The study said that elsewhere in Bellary, the barren lands dotted with hillocks were not suitable for constructing an airport.

The Reddys forced the government to go ahead with the project despite strong opposition from farmers. Former prime minister and JD(S) leader HD Deve Gowda led several farmers’ protests against the acquisition of agricultural lands for the project.

In the name of developing tourism in Bellary, Reddy brothers acquired land in Chaganur and Siriwara villages. And though a large airport could be developed in 600 acres, the Reddys forced the government to acquire 1,200 acres, said Mallikarjuna Reddy.

Three areas were shortlisted to acquire the land:  Siruguppa Road, Talur Road and Chaganur and Siriwara. Janardhana opted for Chaganur-Sirwara land saying it was a dry land although two crops were cultivated a year. He rejected the first two options saying they were agricultural lands.

This move angered the local farmers who staged protests against the Reddy brothers and the government in power. But Janardhana acted fast with a compensation offer to pacify them. He fixed the land price at Rs12 lakh to Rs16 lakh per acre when the running rate was only Rs3 lakh.

His plan worked and the farmers were impressed by the offer. About 70% of them sold their land.

“But the remaining 30% farmers continued their fight to save their land. They filed a petition in the high court in June, 2009. Although no soil tests were conducted on the agricultural lands, the reports said they were dry lands,” said Mallikarjuna Reddy.  The airport planners also ignored a high canal passing beside the land acquired for the project. If the canal developed a crack, the airport land would be flooded, said Mallikarjuna Reddy.