'This is private property': Landowners claim ownership of public road over 'failed' TDR promise

Bengaluru: A stretch of a newly built four-lane public road in eastern Bengaluru advertises a bizarre message: "Private property. Public vehicles not allowed". 

If you think it is just a prank, hold on! Several stretches of the new road from Gunjur to Varthur are adorned with posters and messages proclaiming private ownership, thanks to the delay from the side of BBMP in issuing Transferable Development Rights (TDR) to landowners who parted with their land to build the road. 

The civic body is in a fix over issuing TDRs to landowners who got their farmlands converted in advance for higher compensation.  

The delay irked some property owners so much that they painted the newly built road claiming ownership and threatening to build a compound wall around it. 

Landowners have also put up posters with the same message at multiple places along the road. 

The 4-km stretch in Gunjur is among 17 roads in Mahadevapura that the BBMP is constructing by promising TDR certificates (notional land) to land losers in lieu of cash compensation. By offering developmental rights, which are generally two times the guidance value, the BBMP has widened several roads in other parts of the city. 

While some landowners have refused to part with their land, citing a lack of clarity about compensation, those who gave up the land are not happy with the TDR value provided by the civic body. The ambiguity over compensation structure has held up over 1,000 TDR-related files in the BBMP, DH has learnt. 

Officials said the TDR was valued for land under three categories, including agricultural and fully-developed. "This is also the standard followed by the sub-register office but land losers say the compensation is too low. Hence, we will write to the government for clarity,” a senior BBMP official said. 

Another BBMP official said the land notified for building the road as per the master plan had been converted for non-agricultural purposes to get higher compensation. "The conversion itself is illegal,” he said. 

The TDR value is said to rise by 60% if the land is converted. 

Former MLA Aravind Limbavali said the BBMP should find a solution and compensate the land losers immediately. "I had volunteered to convince the owners to part with their land to build roads in different parts of Mahadevapura (when I was the MLA). The BBMP could build the roads only after they gave up the land. Now, it is the BBMP's responsibility to deliver on its promise and compensate them,” he said. 

Jagadish Reddy, a resident of Varthur, said the BBMP had built the road without taking custody of the property. "Technically, the property owner is the owner of the road. If the civic body does not clear ambiguity about compensation under TDR, no owner will agree to part with their valuable land for public projects,” he said. 

Another resident said the agricultural land that comes under the BBMP limits should be considered as deemed converted because no one in the city was into agriculture. "The middle ground is to collect the fee for converting the land for non-agricultural purposes and issue the compensation,” he said.