BDA to acquire land for peripheral Ring Road

More than five years after issuing the preliminary notification to acquire 1,810 acre and 18.5 guntas of land to build the Peripheral Ring Road (PRR), the Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) has once again issued preliminary notification to acquire an additional 326 acre of land for the project, though the government is yet to approve the proposed enhanced compensation for the land which is already acquired. BDA Commissioner Bharat Lal Meena said, "We need more land for toll plazas and other amenities including approach roads along the course of the proposed PRR. Therefore, we have issued the preliminary notification and we will acquire the land immediately after the hearing the objections filed by the land owners." When asked about the enhanced compensation proposed by the BDA for the land which has already been acquired, Meena said,"The issue is before the government and I think it will be approved very soon". Compensation issueIt may be recalled that the BDA had first issued the preliminary notification for acquiring land for the project on May 27, 2005. As the guidance value was subsequently enhanced by the State Government and as the compensation for the acquired land is given on the basis of the prevailing guidance value at the time of issuing the preliminary notification, the land owners had held a series of protests and refused to give the land for the project unless the compensation given is in accordance with the current guidance value. After holding a series of discussions with them, the BDA had recommended that the compensation be enhanced in accordance with the revised guidance value and the government is yet to take a decision on the issue. According to the original estimates, the BDA was supposed to provide `437 crore as compensation for the land and but according to the revised compensation, now it will have to shell out Rs 1,167 crore. If the government approves the BDA's recommendation the project cost, estimated at `5,000 crore, is likely to escalate steeply. 9 big construction companies including L T, Nagarjuna Construction Company, Soma Consortium and GMR Group have expressed their interest to lay the PRR from Hosur Road to Tumkur Road from K R Puram and Bellary Road side on public private partnership basis. Nandi Infrastructure Corridor Enterprise has already laid the Peripheral Ring Road from Hosur Road to Tumkur Road from Bannerghatta Road and Mysore Road side.