Union Consumer Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi on Monday, 13 July 2026, sharply condemned the Karnataka Congress government over its alleged attempt to forcibly acquire farmland in Bidadi, Ramanagara district, under a proposed township project, calling the move 'anti-farmer' and demanding an immediate halt to coercive land survey operations.

Context

Joshi's post, written in Kannada, was triggered by a widely circulated incident in which farmer women reportedly chased away revenue officials who had arrived to conduct a Joint Measurement and Cadastral (JMC) survey of agricultural land near Bidadi. The minister framed the act of resistance as a spontaneous expression of anger against a government he accused of favouring real-estate interests over rural livelihoods.

Translating his core charge: 'ರೈತರ ಒಪ್ಪಿಗೆಯಿಲ್ಲದೆ... ಮಾಡುವ ಟೌನ್‌ಶಿಪ್ ಅಭಿವೃದ್ಧಿ ಯಾರ ಉದ್ದಾರಕ್ಕಾಗಿ?' — 'Township development done without farmers' consent, by seizing the green land that is their livelihood — whose welfare is it for?' He added that any belief that police force could be used to take farmers' land was 'an illusion.'

Policy Backdrop

Land acquisition in India is governed by the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement (RFCTLARR) Act, 2013, which replaced a colonial-era 1894 law. The 2013 legislation mandates landowner consent, a social impact assessment, and fair compensation before any acquisition can proceed — provisions Joshi implicitly invoked when he stated that 'farmers' land is their right' and cannot be taken without their support.

Bidadi, located along the Bengaluru–Mysuru highway in Ramanagara district, has been identified in successive state plans as a node for industrial and urban expansion to decongest Bengaluru. Land acquisition around the city's peripheral growth corridors has historically generated friction between the state government and farming communities.

Stakeholders and Impact

At the centre of the dispute are small and marginal farmers whose agricultural holdings fall within the proposed Bidadi Township footprint. For many, the land represents both their primary livelihood and an inherited asset, making any acquisition — even with compensation — a deeply contested proposition.

The Karnataka Congress government, led by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah since May 2023, has not yet publicly responded to Joshi's broadside. The BJP, which has been in opposition at the state level since losing the 2023 Karnataka Assembly elections, has consistently sought to highlight land and governance controversies as part of its campaign to return to power in the state. Joshi, a senior Karnataka BJP leader, carries additional weight in this debate as a sitting Union minister with a strong base in the state.

What's Next

The immediate flashpoint is whether the Karnataka revenue department will attempt to resume the suspended JMC survey, and under what conditions. Legal observers and farmer groups are likely to watch for any Karnataka High Court petition challenging the acquisition process on grounds of non-compliance with the RFCTLARR Act.

Questions are also expected to be raised in the Karnataka Legislative Assembly when it next sits, with the BJP likely to use the Bidadi episode as a platform to press the Siddaramaiah administration on its land acquisition procedures and alleged links to real-estate interests. The episode underscores a recurring tension in India's urbanisation story: the collision between state-driven township ambitions and the consent rights of farming communities protected under national law.