Landshare scheme to benefit BDA, farmers

Landshare scheme to benefit BDA, farmers
New Indian Express

BANGALORE: Here is a deal that claims it will be beneficial to both farmers and the Bangalore Development Authority (BDA), in cases where land is acquired by the BDA for development of layouts.

The Bangalore Ryots’ Interface for Development with Government Enterprises (BRIDGE) has come out with a proposal that suggests land-pooling for layout formation under the 55 per cent (for farmers) and 45 per cent (for the BDA) site-sharing formula.

“With this system the farmer will benefit and the BDA will be free of law suits and delays,” Vijay Bhat, a member of BRIDGE said. As of now the BDA acquires land at the rate of Rs 25 lakhs per acre and gives a 40x60 site, valued at Rs 20 lakh to the landowner.

Thus the landowner gets Rs 45 lakh per acre of land acquired. If the proposed module is adopted the farmer would get 0.55 acre of the land as developed sites valued at Rs 1.99 crore.

Thus the farmer benefits by over four times. The BDA with its 45 per cent stake can set aside 30 per cent of the land for roads, civic amenities and allotment of sites to the weaker sections of society.

The remaining 15 per cent can be auctioned to raise money for administrative expenses and layout formation.

“This module will give farmers the market value for their land without having to spend money on getting clearances, layout formation, and marketing,” M G Dattatreya, a member said. “We farmers cannot afford to buy sites. The module will free farmers from being exploited by private land developers,” M C Narendra said.

A similar scheme is in vogue in Gujarat. “There has been not a single case in Ahmedabad since 1916,” Bhat said.