From Our Special Correspondent

Daijiworld Media Network

Bengaluru, Jul 31: The Peripheral Ring Road (PRR) project aimed at decongesting traffic in Bengaluru is necessary and cannot be dropped. However, the government is committed to protecting the interests of farmers who lost their lands for the project, assured Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar in Bengaluru on Monday.

He was participating in a dialogue with farmers and land owners, who had lost
their lands for PRR project, held at Jnanabharati Auditorium on Palace Road in the city.

Shivakumar appreciated the suggestions given at the meeting and said the
suggestion for providing alternative sites to those who lost lands in a time-bound manner and also issue No-Objection-Certificates (NOCs) in respect of the lands acquired will be considered.

"I am not in a position to issue NOC for acquired land,’’ he said but promised
to ensure that the farmers and land owners who lost their lands for the project would be helped.

The deputy chief minister said the notification of land acquisition for the PRR
project was issued in 2007 and if the project was implemented immediately, the question of providing hefty compensation would not have arisen and the payment of compensation would not have become a big burden.

He said the payment of compensation must be decided in accordance with
the Act passed in 2013. "I will take up the issue in the State Cabinet and try to ensure justice for all,’’ he promised.