BENGALURU: Following a written confirmation from the Housing and Urban Development Corporation Limited (HUDCO) to the Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) that it would provide 100% funding for the Rs 27,000-crore Bengaluru Business Corridor (Peripheral Ring Road) project, there is now brisk activity surrounding the initiative.
On Monday, eight new land acquisition officers were assigned to the BDA to expedite land acquisition for the 73-km project. Additionally, a new office will be established at Yelahanka, along with three more in the vicinity of the 76 villages from which land will be acquired for the project.
The Additional Chief Secretary to the Chief Minister, L.K. Atheeq, who also serves as the Chairman of the Special Purpose Vehicle to implement the BBC, along with Vice-Chairman N.A. Harris, held a meeting on Monday with the Deputy Commissioner (Rural), the Additional Deputy Commissioner (Urban), and senior BDA officials to assess the project's status.
The project will cover 2,560 acres of land and connect Tumakuru Road to Hosur Road, crossing Doddaballapur Road, Bellary Road, and Old Madras Road.
A source informed TNIE, "The need to speed up the handover of government land to the tune of 193 acres was discussed. Despite a G.O. issued in 2022 to hand over the land free of cost to the BDA, the progress has been very slow. The Deputy Commissioners were urged to expedite the handover."
While compensation will be nearly equal to that of the new Land Acquisition Act, determining who should receive the compensation has proven to be a challenge.
"Over time, the lands have been partitioned among families, and multiple owners need to be compensated for a piece of acquired property. This now pushes up the list of those who need to be compensated to over 4,000 land losers," the source explained.
To ensure landowners do not have to travel to the BDA head office for their compensation, the new offices are being set up closer to them. The payment of compensation and acquisition is expected to be completed within six months, the source added.
The Chief General Manager of HUDCO will be visiting the BDA shortly to finalise the formalities. It was also noted that tenders cannot be floated until the funding and acquisition processes are completed.