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UDUPI: With the Karnataka Industrial Area Development Board (KIADB) planning to go ahead with the acquisition of 269 acres in 80 Badagubettu gram panchayat for an industrial zone, villagers are living with a fear of losing their houses, sites and agricultural land.

 Recently the villagers have passed a resolution at a taluk panchayat meeting against the land acquisition for the project. The villagers had asked KIADB to exclude the village from the project.

 The Udupi Urban Development Authority had notified the land for the project about 12 years ago to develop the area. In a recent letter to the board the deputy commissioner giving permission to acquire 269 acres. However, villagers are of the opinion that the industrial zone can be set up in 20 acres.

 As the first phase of their protest they have submitted memorandums to as many as 23 people’s representatives from the areas including GP members and MP.

 K Prabhakar Shetty, president, Jana Jagruthi Samithi, Badagubettu, said, "We are against the proposal to develop an industrial zone in 80 Badagubettu and a resolution has been passed in this regard’. We have decided to seek justice in the court of law and within 15 days we will initiate the process".

 The population of the GP is about 2,000 residents and there are 350 houses in the village.

 Sathish Nayak, a resident, said that no public hearing has been organized to understand the views of the villagers so far. ’’We will not allow our fertile land to be acquired for industries’’, he said.

 Meanwhile, district in-charge minister Vinay Kumar Sorake on Monday has said the villagers will be taken into confidence before any decision on creating an industrial zone is made.

 When TOI contacted deputy commissioner M T Reju, he said that the Udupi Urban Development Authority had made an announcement in 2001 to notify 269 acres of land in 80 Badagubettu. "The move requires a revision now as such announcements are valid for only five years. As 12 years have passed, KIADB cannot acquire the land now and there is a need for a public hearing in this regard," he added.