Landowners, environmentalists corner BDA at public hearing for PRR

The public hearing on the environmental impact of the Peripheral Ring Road (PRR) proposed by BDA brought loads of brickbats from activists who opposed the project as well as farmers and landowners anguished by the 15-year-delay in providing compensation.

The 65.5 km PRR is an 8-lane road planned to complete the remaining half of the Nice Road. Officials have put the estimated cost at Rs 15,111.42 crore, which is likely to go up considering the need to acquire 400 acres for building cloverleaf junctions. The road requires felling of 33,838 trees and will affect the Tippagondanahalli catchment area.

After last month's attempt to conduct a physical hearing led to controversy, the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB) had moved the consultation to the online platform. The video conference saw the participation of about 180 people, including a few who stood in support of the Bangalore Development Authority (BDA).

Vociferous demand for the details of the project, questions over the validity of the public hearing without providing details of the alignment and confusion over alignment were some of the repeated concerns raised by the participating members.

Bharath Ram, a landowner, said his plot in Soldevanahalli's SBI Layout was marked for acquisition in the BDA's notification (issued in 2006). "However, in the last 15 years, I have not received a notice. This kind of discrepancy should stop immediately," he said, demanding to know whether his site has been dropped from the notification.

Nagesh Yadav, son of a farmer, said he was in high school when their land was notified. "My father has spent the last 15 years running from pillar to post, seeking compensation. We can neither utilise the land nor get the money due for us. He is now bedridden. Don't push us into the same situation. Build the road soon or scrap the project," he said.

Annaporna, a participant, sought to know the BDA's mitigation plan to save the water table. "The draft environment impact assessment (EIA) report says six lakes will be affected. The report also says that the road will affect TG Halli catchment area. The government last year said it will spend Rs 260 crore to revive the reservoir. What will happen to public money," she asked.

Shreya Dasgupta and three others raised concerns about the BDA's proposal to take the road inside the Jarakabande Reserved Forest. "The EIA report says there is indirect evidence for the presence of peafowl. The person who prepared the report should have visited the forest. He could have found Indian grey mongoose and other threatened animals. When there are two roads bypassing the forest, there is no justification for locating the PRR inside the lung space," she said.

Leo Saldanha of Environment Support Group and Tara Krishnaswamy of Citizens for Bengaluru questioned the validity of the hearing without disclosing the alignment of the road. "A legitimate application by BDA should have included the detailed project report," he said, adding the present procedure was illegal.

However, some of the participants stood in support of the BDA. Tejasvi, a resident of Yashwantpur, said the world was looking at Bengaluru due to its role as IT hub. "Infrastructure needs of the city have to be met. Please do not listen to the NGOs. Save the people from the traffic snarls," he said.

Shilpa Rao, another participant, sought to clarify that environmentalists were not opposed to the PRR but were opposing the failure to follow the due procedure.