Compensation crisis: How Karnataka's agencies fail landowners

When a piece of land is notified for acquisition in Karnataka, the compensation differs based on the government agency involved. While this might seem strange, not all agencies in the state adhere to the Union government's Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act of 2014.

Agencies such as the Bangalore Development Authority (BDA), Karnataka Housing Board (KHB) and the Karnataka Industrial Areas Development Board (KIADB) continue to follow their own compensation structures.

The only two agencies in the state that follow the Centre's 2014 provisions are — the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) and the Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Ltd (BMRCL). Unless the guidance value is extremely low, landowners say the compensation given by these agencies is better, as they offer two times the guidance value for urban areas and four times for rural areas, which generally aligns with the market value.

In the case of BDA, the cash compensation for layouts is not attractive. While landowners who cannot wait long end up opting for it, most others opt for compensatory sites, as the authority provides 9,583 square feet of developed sites for every acre surrendered.

But the waiting time can be daunting. Shankarappa, for instance, lost three acres of land in Kenchanapura for the Nadaprabhu Kempegowda layout in 2008. He has received 27,072 square feet of compensatory sites, termed developed plots, in return. "For the compensatory sites to appreciate and match the value of my three-acre land, I have to wait for decades as the BDA is yet to fully develop the layout. What I got in return is no match for what I lost," he said.

Aware of the opposition among landowners, the BDA has come up with a better cash compensation ranging anywhere between Rs 6 crore to Rs 8 crore per acre for the formation of the peripheral ring road (PRR) project. The authority has no plans to provide compensatory sites in the road project as it does for layout projects.

Unlike the BDA, the KHB offers slightly better compensation in urban and rural Bengaluru for layout projects, providing 50 per cent of the relinquished land back. On the other hand, the BBMP provides transferable development rights (TDR) to landowners, which are consent-based. However, this approach has not been very positive, as TDR certificates can only be used to construct additional floors, offering twice the size of the relinquished land.