Kalyana Karnataka Horata Samiti founder president Lakshman Dasti has urged the State government to release compensation to farmers who gave their land for the Karanja Irrigation Project by January 2026.
Addressing a press conference in Bidar city on Thursday, Mr. Dasti said the technical committee studying the compensation issue should submit its report by the end of December so that the government can release the compensation to farmers by January 2026.
In response to a 920-day-long agitation led by the Karanja Backwater Affected Farmers’ Committee in Bidar demanding compensation based on fair and scientific standards, the State government formed a six-member technical committee in April 2025. The committee, headed by the Regional Commissioner, was supposed to submit its report in three months. However, due to the transfer of the earlier Regional Commissioner, the report has been delayed for eight months. The new Regional Commissioner has assured that the report will be submitted by the end of December, he added.
Dr. Dasti said compensation should follow court guidelines and farmers should get a fair, uniform amount for their land. He requested Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, District In-charge Minister Eshwar Khandre, Minister Rahim Khan, and all representatives from Bidar to take responsibility and ensure timely payment of compensation to the farmers.
He warned that if the government continues to delay, the farmers will have no choice but to launch another protest. Mr. Dasti urged the Chief Minister, Deputy Chief Minister and Irrigation Minister to treat the issue as priority and act on war footing basis.
Though the government has approved compensation amounts for land acquired additionally, some officials are delaying payments without any reason, causing trouble for farmers, Mr. Dasti claimed and alleged that corruption could be the reason behind these delays and urged district authorities to act immediately and extend justice to the affected farmers.
Published – December 05, 2025 07:16 pm IST
