BDA’s Ring Road runs into rough weather

BDA’s Ring Road runs into rough weather

N R MadhusudhanFirst Published : 01 Apr 2010 04:34:00 AM IST
BANGALORE: More than 2,500 farmers from 67 villages near Bangalore plan to protest outside the office of the Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) on April 8. They are demanding better compensation from the BDA for their land that was acquired to construct the Peripheral Ring Road (PRR), something BDA officials say they cannot do under the existing rules.
Farmers, on their part, say that shortly after their land was acquired, the guidance value — the value of land as fixed by the government — was revised, and insist that they should be given compensation as per the new value.
BDA rules, however, stipulate that compensation has to be determined on the basis of the guidance value prevailing at the time the preliminary notification for land acquisition was issued.
For the PRR, the BDA had issued the preliminary notification in three batches between May 27, 2005 and November 15, 2006. The final notification for acquiring the land was published in July 2007. However, in 2007, the government enhanced the guidance value. Land that was worth Rs 15 lakh under the older system, was valued at Rs 50 lakh. The market prices also have greatly escalated since then. According to sources, one acre of land costs more than Rs 1 crore in some areas where the land has been notified for the PRR. The registration value of the land is fixed on the guidance value.
Many farmers led by the Karnataka Rajya Raitha Sangha leader Kodihalli Chandrashekar have declared that they will not settle for a lower compensation.
A BDA official, who did not wish to be named, said, “Only the court or the government can enhance the compensation. As officials, we go by the rules. The land owners are at a liberty to go to the court instead of protesting here. If the court directs, we can enhance the compensation.’’