Krishna Byre Gowda, Revenue Minister, Karnataka
Regular revision of the indicative value of land is necessary to ensure that farmers receive fair compensation during land acquisition and to avoid disruptions in land transactions, Revenue Minister Krishna Byre Gowda told the Karnataka Legislative Council on March 11.
Responding to BJP member KS Naveen in the Council, the Minister said that regular revision of benchmark will help bridge the gap between official rates and prevailing market prices while reducing scope for unaccounted cash transactions in land deals.
Pointing out the wide difference between the assessment value and the market price of land in several parts of Karnataka, he said, “In some areas, the assessment value of land can be around ₹ 2,000, while the actual market value is between ₹ 70,000,000 and ₹ 80,000,000. Such a large difference encourages transactions involving unaccounted money.”
Regular revision of the guide value, he said, would help align official values with market realities, curb black money in real estate transactions and ensure that farmers receive fair and adequate compensation when their land is acquired for public projects.
Compensation will continue to be based on the 2019 value
Mr. Naveen raised concerns that compensation in several land acquisition cases continues to be calculated based on the 2019 benchmark even though the state government has revised the benchmark in 2023. He sought to ascertain whether this resulted in financial loss to the farmers whose land was acquired.
Responding to a query, Mr. Byre Gowda said that the compensation for land acquisition is fixed in accordance with the provisions of the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013.
He explained that once a preliminary notice of land acquisition is issued, the indicative value applicable at that time is taken into account while calculating the compensation. Subsequent guideline value revisions cannot be used in such cases.
Three years on average
Instead, the compensation is determined either on the basis of the existing guideline value at the time of notification or the average value of the registered sale deeds of the previous three years, whichever is higher.
However, Mr Naveen argued that using the older benchmarks as a basis for compensation could lead to unfairness to farmers, especially when land prices rise substantially over time.
Acknowledging the concerns, Mr. Byre Gowda said that the delay in revising the guidelines could indeed cause hardship to farmers in certain situations. “Government acquires land for various public purposes. If the guideline values are not revised regularly, farmers may suffer losses. Hence, we push for revision of the guideline values from time to time,” he said.
Published – 11 March 2026 15:34 IST
