BENGALURU: Farmers and site owners affected by the Bengaluru Business Corridor (BBC) petitioned Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot on Monday to intervene and quash the project, alleging that it has “lost its legal validity” and declined the five compensation options extended by the state government.
In a memorandum submitted by the PRR Farmers and Site Owners Association, the Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) is accused of acting “in violation of constitutional and statutory provisions” while proceeding with the BBC project under an outdated framework.
The association represents thousands of families whose lands fall under the proposed 77-km stretch of the corridor. They argued that the project has “lapsed automatically” since the scheme failed to pass any award or take possession of land within five years of the original notification issued on June 29, 2007.
Speaking at a press conference, Mavalipura B Srinivas, the association’s president, urged the Governor to direct the BDA to amend the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement (RFCTLARR) Act, 2013 into the BDA framework. “All other agencies like BMRCL, KRDCL, NHAI, and KIADB have adopted the 2013 Act, which guarantees fair compensation. The BDA alone continues to operate under the colonial 1894 Act,” he said, adding that 20,000 families have been suffering since the past 20 years. The association highlighted the absence of a Detailed Project Report (DPR), Social Impact Assessment (SIA), and Environmental Clearance from the National Green Tribunal (NGT).
Calling the BDA’s approach “unconstitutional and anti-farmer,” the association alleged that the agency was functioning “outside the framework of the Constitution,” violating Article 300A (right to property) and the 74th Amendment on decentralised planning.
The petition alleged that the BDA’s latest compensation package, offering landowners five options, was “fraud and eyewash.” The reasons for declining the compensation as outlined by the association are: cash compensation is based on outdated 2016 guidance values, as the BDA itself requested the government not to revise rates in PRR zones; Transferable Development Rights (TDR) lacks legal clarity and risks of “speculation, manipulation and corruption”; FAR has “lost value” after the February 2025 policy allowing premium payments by builders, and developed land compensation is inconsistent, as land values vary across the 77-km stretch. The BDA, instead of returning the 35 meters of our land to us, can acquire the required 65 meters, they said.