Farmers whose land was identified for the Peripheral Ring Road (PRR) project have taken objection to the Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) floating tender for the project without fixing the rate for their land. They have demanded the BDA to decide on compensation at the earliest.
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Eshwar Reddy, a farmer living in Gulimangla village, said: “I have a one acre of land and for the PRR project, the entire land has been notified. The BDA has floated a tender without finalising the compensation package. We want the State Government to give clarity on how much we will get per acre. Our primary demand is to announce compensation as per the Land Acquisition Act of 2013. Until that is met, we are not going to part with our land.“
On Wednesday, the farmers had planned to carry out protests near the BDA head office, but police thwarted the attempt citing court orders. Farmer leaders said that on April 16, authorities have convened a meeting with farmers on the issue and based on the outcome, further decision will be taken.
In the first week of April, the BDA had floated a global tender for the construction of the 74-km-long PRR connecting Tumakuru and Hosur Road. The PRR project will be taken up along the lines of the design, build, finance, operate and transfer (DBFOT) model. The private investor will also bear the land acquisition cost. The BDA will allow the private party to collect the toll for a period of 50 years.
Raghu N., Bengaluru district president of Karnataka Rajya Raitha Sangha, said: “It is unacceptable that the BDA floated tenders without deciding on compensation. Over 15 years ago, over 1810 acres of land were notified. Now, for realignment and integrating with NICE Road, an additional 760 acres of land have been identified. For the additional land identified, the BDA is yet to issue the notification. Thousands of farmers are going to part with their land for the project. All that we are demanding is fair compensation for the project.”