Bengaluru: In bid to complete PRR, govt to offer higher compensation for 948 acres

Bengaluru: The long-pending issue of land acquisition, which has delayed the Peripheral Ring Road (PRR) project, saw movement on Friday with the state cabinet empowering the Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) to offer revised compensation for 948 acres of land, based on its October 2025 order.

The decision is expected to provide significant relief to landowners, as it covers more than 50% of the land required for the 74-km project.

The PRR project, now rebranded as the Bengaluru Business Corridor, has faced prolonged delays despite multiple compensation models being proposed for landowners affected by the 10-lane road.

The BDA had passed awards for about 948 acres and 14.5 guntas of land as early as 2007. However, it was unable to take possession of the land as monetary compensation was not paid to landowners, leaving the acquisition process incomplete.

“Since the awards fixed earlier were extremely low, we were left with two options,” a senior official associated with the project said. “Either we force the old rates on farmers or seek government approval to extend the revised compensation as an ex gratia payment. The latter was chosen, as it would encourage farmers to part with their land for this long-delayed project,” the official said.

In total, the 74-km corridor requires around 1,810 acres of land. Of this, approximately 200 acres belong to the government, while the remaining land is privately owned. In addition, the BDA has already issued preliminary notifications for about 608 acres and officials said a final notification for these parcels would be issued shortly.