GBDA Moves Ahead With Bidadi AI Township Tenders Amid Farmer Protests
The Greater Bengaluru Development Authority has begun finalising design and planning tenders for the country's first proposed artificial intelligence-powered township in Bidadi, moving ahead despite local farmer protests that have continued for more than 560 days. The move follows the Karnataka government issuing final land acquisition notifications last week for the remaining two villages, Bairamangala and Kanchugaranahalli.
With the latest orders, the state government has completed final notifications for all nine revenue villages required for the massive project. The overall township requires 9,640 acres of land, of which 7,357.36 acres represent residual private land, while the remaining portion is already owned by the government. In Bairamangala, 1,142.25 acres have been notified, comprising 1,070.42 acres of residual land, while Kanchugaranahalli accounts for 753.11 notified acres, including 731 acres of residual land.
A senior GBDA official stated that tenders had been invited several months ago through a Global Expression of Interest. The authority confirmed it has received bids from international firms and will conclude the selection process soon. Selected consultants are slated to work alongside the Project Management Unit across every stage of township planning.
Discussions regarding the township had slowed over the past two months after Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar constituted a committee to review its merits and demerits. However, protesting cultivators expressed deep dissatisfaction with the fresh notifications, accusing the administration of reneging on assurances. Prakash H.G., a protesting farmer, noted that the committee formed on July 14 had only recently invited public objections and questioned the decision to notify lands before the panel submitted its findings.
GBDA officials maintained that project work had not stopped and compensation was already being disbursed. According to official documents, farmers in Bairamangala are set to receive nearly ₹2.4 crore per acre. Officials noted that land acquisition files had been forwarded to the state government prior to the committee's formation and argued that holding up notifications would unfairly delay payouts for landowners seeking compensation in high-value zones.
Yashavantha T., general secretary of the Karnataka Prantha Raitha Sangha, who is spearheading the demonstrations, disputed the rationale. He stated that the government offered identical justifications when notifying two earlier villages on the day the review committee was announced, pointing out that the Chief Minister had publicly pledged not to alter the project's status until the committee delivered its final report.
