Bengaluru Business Corridor land talks begin amid compensation dispute

BDA to meet landowners for Peripheral Ring Road project, but disagreement over compensation rates threatens progress.

The Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) will from Monday hold consultations with landowners on compensation for the long-delayed 74-km Bengaluru Business Corridor (Peripheral Ring Road). Spread across 2,560 acres, the project aims to connect Hosur Road and Tumakuru Road, easing traffic congestion on the city’s outer roads.

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Eight committees, each led by a land acquisition officer, will conduct meetings at 18 locations, including Yelahanka mini Vidhana Soudha, Varthur nada kacheri, Huskur revenue office, and Kadugodi BBMP office.

However, the talks face a major roadblock. Landowners are demanding compensation based on the 2013 Land Acquisition Act, which reflects current market rates, estimated at Rs 15 crore per acre, while the BDA is offering less than Rs 8 crore under its 1976 Act. They argue that fair rates should have been disclosed ahead of the consultations.

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In an effort to resolve the dispute, the government has formed eight price-fixation committees tasked with hearing landowners’ objections and suggesting a mutually agreeable ‘consent award.’The final decision will rest with the state, but no breakthrough has been made despite HUDCO offering financial backing over two years ago.

On Sunday, landowners gathered to warn that if fair market-based compensation is not offered, the project should be scrapped entirely.

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