Farmers to CM: Give fair compensation or drop Peripheral Ring Road project

Bengaluru: Around 50 farmers staged a protest in front of the Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) headquarters on Monday, voicing their opposition to the compensation offered to landowners affected by the Peripheral Ring Road (PRR) project.

They also called on Chief Minister Siddaramaiah to abandon the project altogether.

"The final notification to acquire 1,810 acres of land was issued in 2007. Since the BDA failed to implement the project within five years, as required by its own rules, it should be dropped,” stated the memorandum submitted by the protestors.

The farmers expressed willingness to give up their land if the compensation aligns with the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation, and Resettlement Act of 2013, which other agencies, such as the National Highways Authority of India, Karnataka Housing Board, and Karnataka Industrial Area Development Board, currently follow.

"The latest government order stated that the compensation is based on the outdated BDA Act of 1894, which was enacted during the British era. No farmer will benefit from handing over their land for this project. If the government lacks the funds to pay fair compensation, they should drop the project,” said Mavallipura Srinivas, president of the farmers’ association.