Farmers stick to legal compensation for Bengaluru Business Corridor project

Bengaluru: Even as the government sought to ease the long-standing dispute over compensation for landowners along the 74-km Bengaluru Business Corridor (BBC), farmers stuck to their demand for payments under the 2013 Land Acquisition Act.

They opposed the five types of compensation offered, questioning why the Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) was reluctant to follow the law.

"This project is designed to profit at the cost of farmers,” said Mavallipura Srinivas, leading the union of landowners. “We do not oppose the road. We want fair compensation for our losses, not just for the land, but also for the 20 years of land rights we have lost,” he added.

The project, notified in 2005–06, has stalled over compensation, leaving landowners unable to develop, build houses, or mortgage their property. Many farmers have fallen into debt since their land can only be used for cultivation.

They said the final notification issued in 2007 was no longer valid. “Consent of landowners and farmers has lapsed. Compensation should now follow the 2013 Land Acquisition Act,” they said, noting that the BDA repeatedly suppressed guidance values to keep compensation low.

M Ramesh of Ramagundanahalli spoke about how 20 years of lost property rights have affected livelihoods, making it difficult to pay for children’s education or arrange marriages. He contrasted their plight with families who lost land for the Kempegowda International Airport, now working as cleaners or housekeepers, and asked, “Why steal the future of your own people to nurture the future of outsiders?”