SALAR NEWS

After farmers' protests, govt clarifies on Bengaluru Business Corridor

The government said only 2,418 acres are being acquired and 5,000 families are affected, rejecting farmers’ claims that 20,000 families would lose land under the project.

Salar News

The farmers' body on Monday had also argued that the cash compensation under the proposal is undervalued because the guideline values were not revised since 2016 (Representative Image: Salar)

Bengaluru, 28 Oct

The State government issued a clarification after farmers' bodies wrote to Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot, urging the ruling Congress to scrap the Peripheral Ring Road (PRR) Phase I, now renamed the Bengaluru Business Corridor (BBC).

The PRR Farmers’ and Landlords’ Association had opposed the Bengaluru Development Authority’s (BDA) proposed five-point compensation formula and termed the project as anti-farmer.

The official X handle of the Bengaluru Business Corridor responded to a post by activist Prasanna Viswanathan linking to an article about the same.

“The total land being acquired is 2,418 acres in 2,584 survey numbers,” the statement claimed. “Around 5,000 families are losing whole or part of their lands and not 20,000 families.”

However, the farmer’s body and Viswanathan said that 20,000 families would be affected.

The BBC claimed that the farmers hadn’t rejected the five-point proposal, as the government would present the options to them only in November.

The farmers' body on Monday had also argued that the cash compensation under the proposal is undervalued because the guideline values were not revised since 2016.

However, the BBC said that “the cash compensation will be paid on par with the 2013: 2 times the current guidance value (GV) in urban areas and 3 times the current GV in rural areas.”

It said it cannot use the market value as a metric, because “there is no clear measure of what open market value is”.

Including cash compensation, the five-point plan also provided the farmers of availing Transferable Development Rights (TDR), additional Floor Area Ratio (FAR), developed residential land, and developed commercial land. However, the Association termed the plan as an “eyewash”.

The crucial point is allowing the project to happen is a win-win for all,” the government retorted. “It will decongest North Bengaluru. Farmers whose lands have been locked in for the past 20 years will get closure and, if they choose land, TDRs or FAR as compensation, then they will benefit from the project’s success.”