Govt forms two committees to finalise compensation for Bengaluru Business Corridor

Bengaluru: The state government has set up two separate committees to determine the compensation formula for land acquisition, delaying the 74-km Bengaluru Business Corridor (BBC), a proposed 10-lane semi-circular road on the city’s outskirts.

One committee will operate at the Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) level, while the other, comprising senior IAS officers, will review the report and grant final approval.

The first committee, led by the BDA’s deputy commissioner for land acquisition, includes the BBC’s executive engineer, the district sub-registrar, the land acquisition officer, and the tahsildar. This committee is expected to consult nine special land acquisition officers who have already conducted multiple site visits to villages along the proposed route.

The government order states that compensation must be determined based on the guidance value while adhering to the Land Acquisition Act of 1894.

Given the sharp rise in land prices, the order also emphasises that compensation should be attractive to landowners. However, farmers have been demanding compensation under the Centre’s 2014 Act.

Once the five-member committee submits its report, a second review panel will evaluate it. This panel will consist of IAS officers from the urban development, law, finance, stamps and registration, and revenue departments, along with the BDA commissioner and the deputy commissioner for land acquisition.

The committees were formed following a request from LK Atheeq, the newly appointed chairperson of the Bengaluru Business Corridor project.

Earlier this month, Atheeq reviewed the project’s progress as the state government aims to fast-track its execution, which has been stalled for nearly two decades.

The Congress government revived the BBC in September 2024, estimating the cost at Rs 27,000 crore and requiring the acquisition of 2,560 acres of land.