Landowners unhappy as BDA offers ‘fraction of market value’ for PRR

Bengaluru: In what could be seen as a potential ice-breaker, the Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) has nearly finalised the compensation structure it plans to offer to the landowners whose properties have been notified for the 74-km Peripheral Ring Road (PRR) project. While the authority has fixed compensation at twice the guidance value for land within BBMP limits, rural areas will receive three times the 2024–25 guidance value.

This move marks a major milestone, as the BDA had long avoided determining a new compensation structure for the 1,860 acres of land required for the project, which was originally notified way back in 2006–07.

Going by the new proposal, the BDA has fixed Rs 6.75 crore per acre for the land it needs in Varthur by considering three times the guidance value. The compensation for the land in Hagaduru comes to Rs 12.70 crore per acre, which is twice the guidance value as it falls within the BBMP limits. Similarly, the BDA has arrived at compensation for all 18 villages where the new 10-lane road, connecting Hosur Road and Tumakuru Road, is proposed.

Way below market rates

Clearly not happy with the offer, the landowners have already started coming together in large numbers as they have begun to get a hint of BDA’s compensation structure, which they say is not even 25% of the current market rate.

Krishna Ramesh, one of the affected landowners, said the BDA has been deliberately suppressing the guidance value along the proposed PRR project just to pay less to the farmers. “From 2007 to 2025, the guidance value went up by just 25%, but real estate has appreciated over 1,000 times,” he said.

Referring to the recent reduction of guidance value along the PRR alignment, he gave the example of Kachamaranahalli village near Varthur, where he owns about 10 acres of land. “The guidance value was about Rs 4 crore in October 2024 but was brought down to just Rs 1.8 crore per acre early this year so that the BDA can make a profit by grabbing the land at a cheap cost,” he said.

With Wipro opening a 60-acre campus off Sarjapur and Prestige Group building a massive tech park in Varthur, property rates in the area have skyrocketed, but the landowners whose properties have been notified for the PRR project have been unable to cash in on the real estate boom all these years.

The BDA officials told DH that this compensation is the best it can provide as it has considered the latest guidance value. They also noted that much of the land needed for the Peripheral Ring Road (PRR) does not have proper access and is far from major roads, while pointing out that the compensation provided by other departments cannot be kept as a benchmark as the exact location and accessibility matter.

Meanwhile, landowners also cited examples from other agencies: the Karnataka Industrial Areas Development Board (KIADB) is offering Rs 10,100 per sq. ft. in Kodathi for Corridor 4 of the Bengaluru Suburban Railway Project, while the Karnataka Road Development Corporation Ltd (KRDCL) is paying about Rs 9,880 per sq. ft. for widening Varthur Road and constructing a flyover. In stark contrast, BDA’s compensation in the same area amounts to just Rs 3,000 per sq. ft.

Jagadish Reddy, whose 2 acres and 23 guntas of land are notified for the project, said about 80% of the landowners are willing to part with the land provided the BDA compensates farmers on par with the Union government’s 2013 Act. He suggested that if budget is an issue, the BDA should reduce its land requirement and increase compensation.