Bengaluru’s long-stalled Business Corridor project gains momentum as BDA issues first land awards

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The Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) has begun issuing compensation awards for land required for the long-delayed Bengaluru Business Corridor (BBC), marking the first concrete progress in years on the contentious project formerly known as the Peripheral Ring Road.

According to senior officials and documents cited by Deccan Herald, awards have now been passed for the first 100 acres of land — about 4 per cent of the 2,560 acres needed for the 74-km corridor. While the initial tranche is small, officials say it signals that land acquisition has finally entered its most active phase since the project was first conceptualised nearly two decades ago.

“By this Friday, we hope to issue awards for an additional 300 acres of land,” L K Atheeq, Chairperson of the BBC was quoted as saying by Deccan Herald. “We will issue Section 12(2) notices after the awards so that land-losers can opt for the compensation of their choice,” he said. “The efforts over the past one and a half months have finally started to show results.”

Awards after years of litigation



Project authorities say the BBC has been held up primarily by litigation and disputes over compensation. Of the 2,560 acres notified for acquisition, about 140 acres remain locked in court cases. As many as 45 landowners have gone to court challenging the acquisition process, contributing to delays that have stretched across almost twenty years.

The latest award orders indicate that the courts have now cleared a substantial portion of the land, enabling the BDA to move from notifications on paper to actual compensation and possession.

Each award order is a detailed 21-page document recording the survey number, extent of land, valuation, compensation options, court directions, litigation history and the judicial clearances that allow the BDA to proceed. Officials describe this stage as a significant turning point: with awards in place, the authority can both disburse compensation and, where necessary, take possession after depositing amounts in court.

Six compensation options — on paper and in practice



In an attempt to address diverse expectations, the BDA has reportedly put forward six distinct forms of compensation, detailed in the awards and internal documents:

1. General award (cash compensation) under provisions aligned with the Land Acquisition Act, 1894.
2. Consent award, offering higher compensation to landowners who voluntarily agree to the package.
3. Commercial sites allotted on a 65:35 ratio.
4. Residential sites either in Dr K Shivaram Karanth Layout or in new layouts to be formed along the BBC alignment.
5. Transferable development rights (TDR), issued as tradable certificates.
6. Additional floor area ratio (FAR), granted as per the Revised Master Plan 2015. However, the award document, as cited by Deccan Herald, underscores a stark gap between general and consent awards. In one case from Bidarahalli hobli, a landowner would receive about Rs 5.10 crore for 37 guntas (nearly an acre) under the consent award, compared with just Rs 16 lakh under the general award.

Under the commercial-site option in this example, the landowner would be entitled to 7,733 sq ft of commercial space, while the exact entitlement to residential sites depends on the prevailing guidance value. TDR certificates in the same case are notionally valued at Rs 8.53 crore, but officials and landowners alike acknowledge that effectively selling or encashing these instruments remains a major challenge.

Karanth Layout link and landowner choices



Residential sites in Dr K Shivaram Karanth Layout — where the BDA has separately moved to start allotment, offering long-awaited relief to land-losers there, as reported by Deccan Herald — are being used as a key sweetener in the BBC compensation mix. Landowners can opt for sites either in this layout or in new layouts planned along the corridor’s alignment.

Officials argue that the wide spread of options, from cash to developed land and development rights, provides flexibility for farmers and other landowners depending on their needs. Section 12(2) notices, to be issued after each award, are meant to give land-losers a formal window to choose the package they prefer.

Farmers accuse BDA of undervaluation



Despite the expanded bouquet of compensation choices, resistance from landowners — particularly in eastern Bengaluru — remains intense. Farmers and residents argue that BDA’s offers bear little resemblance to the actual market value of their land.

Local stakeholders say the authority’s cash payment under the general award works out to less than a quarter of the going rate. Many are also wary of opting for residential or commercial sites, pointing to BDA’s track record of delayed allotments stretching over years.

For now, the BDA is racing to scale up from the first 100 acres to a much larger footprint, with Atheeq promising awards for another 300 acres within days. Only after a critical mass of land is in its control can the authority move decisively on construction, even as pockets of litigation and farmer resistance remain.