BENGALURU: City Development Minister K.J. George hastened to placate angry farmers who have threatened to lay siege to the BDA office after a major Peripheral Ring Road project was handed over to the National Highways Authority of India. The farmers demanded that compensation be paid on a priority basis and that road work should begin without any delays. George said that a committee, headed by the Chief Secretary of Urban Development, would be formed to oversee the project. “The committee will submit its report within the next three weeks. A meeting will be convened on June 21 to discuss the details of the action plan,” he said. He added that compensation will be paid in keeping with the 2013 land acquisition rules.
The committee will comprise the Chief Secretary (Urban Development), the Principal Secretary of the Revenue and Legal Department, the BDA Commissioner, an engineer member, finance member and the deputy commissioner for land acquisition. Around 900 acres of land have been acquired for the project, which is a 65-km stretch of highway connecting Hosur with Tumkur Road. It is also a means to breathe life into the PRR, which has more or less languished over the last decade.
Affected farmers, however, are distressed because they cannot sell their land or even drill borewells for agricultural activity, said Narayana Reddy, the president of the Bengaluru North Taluk Raitha Sangha. “The BDA or the government must compensate the farmers and begin work immediately, or drop the project altogether,” he said. “This will be a relief to farmers who can sell their land to tide themselves over the current financial crisis.”
BDA to announce KG Layout allotees by June 15
Mr. George said the list of allottees at the BDA-formed Kempegowda Layout would be announced by June 15. The BDA is scrutinizing the applications and will shortlist the applicants this month. The process will be complete in July.
Quarries to tree parks
To increase the green cover in Bengaluru, the government is contemplating turning abandoned quarries into parks. A green revolution is imminent with the support of BDA, BBMP, BWSSB, BMRCL and Forest Department.
