BENGALURU: A litany of woes overflowed as landlosers, most of them farmers, gave vent to their feelings during the grievance redressal meeting by Bengaluru Development Minister D K Shivakumar on the Peripheral Ring Road (PRR) on Monday afternoon.
A majority of the 40-odd individuals who got an opportunity to speak directly to the minister, said they were willing to part with their land for the sake of a crucial infrastructure project for Bengaluru, provided they were given the right compensation amount. But some called for the PRR project to be scrapped.
A total of 1,810 acres of land spread across 67 villages are being notified for acquisition by Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) for the 73-km project, planned 18 years ago. Among the strong voices demanding alternative land or a very good compensation was that of Gautam Jain, who will be losing 2 acres of his land at Madanayakanahalli for the project to be executed by the Bangalore Development Authority.
“The alignment of the road has been changed seven times to favour politicians. The government will never scrap the project because so many politicians and even bureaucrats have purchased land very close to the proposed PRR alignment since 2005, as the value is due to escalate once the road is completed,” he said.
The minister nodded in agreement. “We have also submitted a petition signed by 400 landlosers to the minister to denotify our lands and issue a No Objection Certificate, as nothing has been done in the past 18 years,” Jain added.
Reverend P G Thomas, Father at the Pentecostal Church in Maruti Nagar, said that nearly 500 members attend the church for prayers. “Vested interests have ensured the alignment passes through the church. I have approached many chief ministers and BDA commissioners in the past for help. What will we do with compensation or alternative land? We want the church to be left untouched,” he said.
Striking an emotional note, Vijay Srinivas, president of KEB Employees Layout in Naganahalli, appealed to the minister to settle the long-pending issue during his lifetime. “Please do something before my family frames my photo and puts it up on the wall,” he said, creating a lighter moment.
The fact that the minister chose to have an interactive session came in for much appreciation from the landlosers. In a brief address, the minister said the government was keen on going ahead with the PRR.“I personally assure you I will do the best I can within my capacity to help all of you whose land will be acquired for the project,” he stressed.
Responding to a query, DK Shivakumar ruled out any differences of opinion between the MLAs and ministers in his party in connection with transfers of officials.