Bengaluru: Almost a decade after it was conceived, the Rs 12,000 crore Peripheral Ring Road (PRR) project has received a fresh lease of life with the state government approving it at long last. The announcement has given the Bengaluru Development Authority (BDA) a shot in the arm and it is now going ahead with acquiring the land required for the project. With the final notification issued for land acquisition following a joint measurement survey by the BDA's engineers, an announcement is expected soon on the compensation and Transferable Development Rights (TDR) of those giving up their land for it.
Although farmers have been vehemently against the project as they find the compensation offered for their land too little, the government is confident nothing will come in the way of building the access- controlled and tolled 65.5 km peripheral ring road with cycling tracks and pedestrian pathways running alongside it.
BDA officers say the PRR road connecting Tumakuru Road and Hosur Road via Old Madras Road is expected to not only ease traffic congestion, but also promote economic growth along the corridor.
"The corridor will have eight bi-directional access controlled roads, making it the first of its kind in the country," said BDA engineer member, B Shivashankar. "A special purpose vehicle, the Karnataka Urban Infrastructure Development and Finance Corporation ( KUIDFC), has been set up to execute the project and the state government will bear the land acquisition cost to ensure that the PRR is not put in cold storage again," he added.
But the government's troubles may not be over as farmers are still not happy with the compensation offered to them for their land. Said a farmer from around Tumakuru Road, "The compensation offered by the government is way too little. The acquisition was planned in 2005 and since then the land prices have spiralled. How can we accept such low compensation? The farmers have suffered over the last 10 years as they could not sell their land that has been acquired for the project while it remained in cold storage. Who will compensate us for the mental agony we have suffered?"
