In the State Budget 2016, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah earmarked Rs. 20 crore, to purchase private land for the elephant corridor. The Forest Department has proposed the elephant corridor project in Sakleshpur taluk to expand the elephant habitat as one of the steps to deal with the man-elephant conflict in the area.
Frustrated by repeated incidents of elephants damaging crops and causing human deaths, the residents of villages in Sakleshpur taluk had stated, in writing, that they were ready to part with their land for the project. As many as 416 farmers had voluntarily come forward to part with around 2,361 acres of land. However, they demanded a good price for their property, from the government.
The Hassan district administration conducted meetings with the villagers and recorded their opinions in 2015.
The people were in favour of parting with their land, provided they got a good compensation package. The private land required for the project is located in Balehalla, Bettakumari, Jagata, Ettahalla, Boremane, Mankanahalli, Bisale and Arani villages. Except for a few, all the villagers had favoured the project.
Recently Mr. A. Manju, minister in-charge of Hassan district, said that a team of officers from the Central government would also visit the place to study the proposed project.
The farmers are expecting to get at least Rs. 15 to 20 lakh per acre of the land they will part with. Many of them have encroached upon government land and cultivated it. Now, they want compensation for the land they encroached upon. The officers have not given them any assurance on providing compensation for the land that they have encroached upon.
In the budget, CM Siddaramaiah said that Rs. 20 crore will be set aside for the elephant corridor. Besides this, he also mooted encouraging non-governmental organisations and forest user agencies from purchasing private lands bordering forests, and suggested they hand over the same to the Forest Department.
New cattle feed unit
The CM has proposed the establishment of a cattle feed unit in Arakalgudu. The Karnataka Milk Federation will make the investments for this unit. Arakalgudu is represented by Mr. Manju, minister for Animal Husbandry, in the Legislative Assembly.
Subsidy on certified seeds
Hassan is one of the major potato producers of the state. The CM has announced a subsidy of up to 50 per cent or Rs. 10 per kg on certified seeds. This will benefit the potato growers, who are planning to purchase certified seeds for cultivation. All these years, the growers suffered huge losses by sowing non-certified seeds.