📰 Balancing Industrialisation and Farmers’ Rights: The Devanahalli Land Debate

✍️ By Suryavanshi IAS — Bilingual UPSC Blog (English + Hindi)

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🗓️ Context / संदर्भ

Ahead of Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah’s meeting on July 15, 2025, with Devanahalli farmers protesting against land acquisition for the proposed Defence and Aerospace Park, noted agriculture economist Dr. T.N. Prakash Kammaradi has called for a transparent, consultative and scientific policy on land use and acquisition.

15 जुलाई को कर्नाटक के मुख्यमंत्री की बैठक से पहले, कृषि अर्थशास्त्री प्रकाश काम्मारडी ने उद्योगीकरण और किसानों के हितों के बीच संतुलन की आवश्यकता पर बल दिया है।

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🧭 Key Issues Raised / मुख्य मुद्दे:

📍 1. Lack of Consultation with Industry

• Industries are not part of the dialogue despite being stakeholders in land acquisition.

• Inclusive dialogue is key to long-term conflict resolution.

उद्योगों को चर्चा में शामिल नहीं किया गया है, जबकि वे सीधे हितधारक हैं।

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📍 2. No Scientific Norms for Land Requirement

• No clear standards to decide how much land different industries actually need.

• Risk of disproportionate land allotments.

कई उद्योगों को आवश्यकता से अधिक भूमि दी गई है — यह असंतुलन दूर करना जरूरी है।

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📍 3. Need for a Comprehensive Land Acquisition Policy

Dr. Kammaradi suggests:

• Involve institutions like IIM-Bangalore, ISEC, ICAR institutes

• Transparent land use planning

• Identify ideal industry zones based on employment potential, decentralised growth

• Insulate fertile borewell-irrigated land too — not just canal-irrigated areas

भूमि अधिग्रहण नीति को वैज्ञानिक, पारदर्शी और सहभागितापूर्ण बनाना चाहिए।

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🧠 UPSC Relevance / यूपीएससी महत्व

✅ GS Paper II – Governance / Policy

• Participatory governance in land policy

• Centre–State–Local consultation mechanism

• Balancing development with social justice

✅ GS Paper III – Economy / Agriculture

• Land acquisition for industrial corridors

• Sustainable land use planning

• Agricultural land protection and food security

✅ Essay / Ethics

• Conflict between public good vs. private rights

• Ethics of industrialisation in agrarian societies

• “Development for whom?”

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📚 Quick Facts / त्वरित तथ्य:

Element	Details
Location	Devanahalli, Karnataka
Protest	1,190+ days over farm land acquisition
Project	Defence & Aerospace Park
Suggested Institutions	IIM-B, ISEC, ICAR, IIPM
Main Issue	No dialogue with industries; unscientific land norms

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📝 Practice Questions for UPSC

📌 Prelims MCQs:

1. Which of the following institutions was suggested by Dr. Prakash Kammaradi for land policy consultation?
   a) IIT-Bombay
   b) Indian Statistical Institute
   c) IIM-Bangalore ✅
   d) NCAER

2. Consider the following about land acquisition in India:

   1. Land can be acquired for public purpose and industrial corridors.

   2. All irrigated land is protected from acquisition under central law.
      Which is correct?
      a) Only 1 ✅
      b) Only 2
      c) Both 1 and 2
      d) Neither

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✍️ Mains Questions:

GS Paper II:

Discuss the role of academic and industrial institutions in formulating participatory land acquisition policies in India.

GS Paper III:

How can India balance rapid industrialisation with the need to preserve fertile agricultural land and farmers’ livelihoods? Discuss.

Essay:

“The land is the soul of the farmer; development must respect both.”

Ethics (GS IV):

Examine the ethical dilemmas involved in acquiring farmland for industrial development. How should the government navigate them?

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🔚 Final Thought / समापन विचार

“Industrial growth must not be at the cost of farmers’ dignity. Scientific, inclusive and balanced planning is the need of the hour.”
“किसानों की गरिमा की कीमत पर उद्योगीकरण नहीं होना चाहिए। योजना वैज्ञानिक और न्यायसंगत होनी चाहिए।”

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🧭 Prepare smart. Think deeper. Write wiser.
📘 चिंतन करें, विश्लेषण करें, सटीक उत्तर लिखें।
— Suryavanshi IAS

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