BENGALURU: The peripheral ring road (PRR) around Bengaluru, which was hanging fire for more than a decade-and-a-half, got a fresh lease of life with the cabinet according an in-principle approval to a committee headed by chief secretary Arvind Jadhav on Wednesday.
Though the government completed the process of land acquisition process for a project which was conceived in 1986, the project was not be taken up due to financial constrains. Though JAICA was ready to fund the project, the cost of land acquisition was very high.
The proposed project would connect NICE road junction on Tumakuru road with NICE road junction on Hosur Road, covering over 65 km. The government had notified 100 meters land throughout 65 kms. Though the farmers wanted their land back, as per the Supreme Court order, the government could not return the land.
Law minister T B Jayachandra told the media here that as the process of land acquisition would cost between Rs 8000 to Rs 9000 crores, the government constituted a committee headed by the chief secretary to evolve a new plan.
As per the recommendation, the government has decided to construct an eight lane highway, which would come up in around 75 meters of the land. The remaining 25 meters developed land along the PRR would be distributed among land losers. Besides, the government has decided to offer double FAR for such exchanged land, a move which would benefit farmers.
Though the proposal has been approved by the cabinet, this would require the consent of farmers as well. Therefore, Bengaluru development minister K J George would hold a meeting with farmers to elicit their opinion. After their consent, the issue would be discussed by the cabinet again, Mr Jayachandra added.
As PRR would pave the way for development along the road, BDA would levy betterment charges on land one kms around the road. This would generate revenue for the government to build the road. The government was planning to raise over Rs 2000 crore through betterment charges. The project would be implemented through a SPV, he added.
