PRR project: BDA readies 4 modules for land losers

As the compensation structure is different from what the Supreme Court ruled, it needs the consent of the state Cabinet, an official said.

Bengaluru: In a bid to revive the long-pending Peripheral Ring Road (PRR) — now rebranded as Bengaluru Business Corridor (BBC) — the state government is likely to compensate land losers “on a par with the provisions of the 2013 Act". 

The revised structure has pegged the land acquisition cost at Rs 21,000 crore, at least three times more than the recent estimates.

The Bangalore Development Authority (BDA), which is planning to float a global tender in two days, has worked out four modules of compensation based on land location. "It varies from BBMP limits to BDA jurisdiction and the outskirts,” a senior BDA official said. “The compensation structure is not based on the Land Acquisition Act 2013, but farmers can expect a far better pay than what they were promised in the past.”

As the compensation structure is different from what the Supreme Court ruled, it needs the consent of the state Cabinet, the official said. He recalled Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar’s promise to compensate the farmers fairly. 

According to the BDA, the construction of the 71-km road will cost Rs 6,000 crore. "Although six companies had previously shown interest in the project, no one participated in the last two tenders because we had not fixed the land compensation cost. Hence, we fixed the total project cost at Rs 27,000 crore to provide better clarity to the bidders," another official said. 

However, there is no clarity on whether the farmers will be compensated based on the guidance value of 2007 when the BDA had issued preliminary notification for the acquisition of 1,810 acres of land. The authority issued one more notification in 2021 for the acquisition of another 750 acres.

Some potential land losers wondered why the BDA was floating the global tender without getting approval from the Cabinet on the compensation structure, without the environment clearance as well as the detailed project report (DPR). 

They also stressed that the project may sound fancy but could be ecologically disastrous as it requires about 30 acres of the Jarakabande reserve forest and passes through the protected zone in TG Halli. Overall, 38,000 trees may have to be axed for the project.