Curation Team
BENGALURU: The state govt has decided to levy a betterment tax and 1% stamp duty cess on properties close to the impact zone of the 117km-long tolled road of Bengaluru Business Corridor (BBC), to recover the project costs.
To be completely constructed by Bangalore Development Authority (BDA), the amount collected will be remitted to the authority to pay off the Rs 27,000-crore loan obtained from HUDCO. Documents accessed by TOI reveal the govt is banking on BBC to lead to an “increase in land value” around the road and therefore, an impact zone of 1,000 meters will be notified for taxation.
“Since the impact of the project will be higher on the first 500 meters (from the road edge), compared to the latter 500 meters, a betterment levy as per provisions of the BDA Act may be levied on lands up to 500 meters from the edge of the road,” reads the proposal floated by the urban development department (UDD).
At the other end, the govt has also proposed a 1% cess on stamp duty and registration fee within 1km of the impact zone on either side of the corridor. The amount will be collected by the stamps and registration department and the govt can remit the same to a dedicated bank account of the BBC.
A third revenue-generation proposal is transit-oriented development (ToD) wherein BDA would vest control over property with well-planned rest areas and commercial/residential development at key junctions. A land parcel of 50 to 100 acres, 500m from intersections on the road, can be reserved for such areas, suggests the UDD.
While the toll alone is expected to fetch Rs 7,000 crore, to fund the carriageway, these revenue resources are expected to assist the BDA in paying interest and other ancillary costs.
The HUDCO loan of Rs 27,000 crore has been taken at 9% interest, and the total land acquisition is expected to go up to 2,600 acres for the first phase between Tumakuru Road and Electronics City, which is 73km long.
BBC chairman LK Atheeq told TOI he has prioritised smooth land acquisition for the project. “The cabinet has cleared multiple options for farmers to choose from. We’ll make sure they are not put to any hardship in receiving compensation. We would like to complete the land acquisition in four months and invite tenders for road construction,” he said.
