Updated 26 October 2026. Pages ranking for this topic mostly explain the 2024 TDR order or general road-widening compensation. We set out the new on-site incentives from the final gazette, a worked example, and how they compare with TDR and premium FAR.

What do you get for giving land to road widening?

  • Extra FAR: two times the permissible FAR for the area reserved for road widening or a proposed road, if that land is relinquished to the Authority or local authority (NammaWard).
  • Sites up to 1,000 sq m: setback relaxation of up to 25% of the required setback where land is surrendered (NammaWard).
  • Larger sites: setback and coverage relaxation proportionate to the area surrendered, capped at 25% (NammaWard).
  • Land given on one or two sides: the surrendered ratio is doubled for the relaxation calculation, still capped at 25% (NammaWard).
  • No relaxation on the road side beyond a prescribed building line (NammaWard).

Worked example: setbacks

NammaWard's illustration: on a 4,000 sq m site, surrendering 800 sq m is 20%. With an ordinary setback of 9 m, the relaxed setback is 7.20 m.

Our arithmetic on the one-or-two-sides rule: if that 20% was taken along one side, the ratio doubles to 40% for the calculation, which hits the 25% cap, so the 9 m setback could fall to 6.75 m. Confirm with the planning authority how it applies the doubling to your site.

Worked example: FAR

Illustrative only, our arithmetic: assume a site where the permissible FAR is 2.25 and 100 sq m is reserved for widening. Relinquishing it earns twice the FAR on that land, so 2 x 2.25 x 100 = 450 sq m of built-up area, about 4,844 sq ft, usable on the remaining site within height, setback and other limits. Your actual FAR depends on zone and road width; ask for it in the plan sanction.

TDR in Bengaluru: where the debate stands

TDR, transferable development rights, lets an owner who gives land receive rights that can be sold or used elsewhere. In September 2024 the Urban Development Department allowed agricultural land within BBMP limits to be valued at the converted residential rate for this purpose if the owner pays development charges, after about 1,000 acquisition files stalled because owners rejected low TDR (News Karnataka, 15 September 2024).

In October 2026, a delegation proposed to the Additional Chief Secretary, Urban Development, that voluntary surrenders for listed Master Plan roads and bottlenecks earn TDR of up to 400% of the land area, on the Hyderabad model, with an online TDR bank to register land and track use; one proposal was to require TDR rather than premium FAR for floors above 10 (Deccan Herald, headline and summary only; page not accessible to us). These are proposals, not policy.

What is a DRC, and why owners hesitate

Under TDR, an owner who gives up land receives a Development Rights Certificate (DRC). It is a certificate for extra built-up area, not land; it can be added to another property the owner holds, or split and sold, typically to developers who want to build beyond their sanctioned FAR (Citizen Matters, 2009). The ratio has changed over time: Citizen Matters described 1.5 times the surrendered area in 2009, and Deccan Herald reported that a July 2025 notification for widening ITPL Main Road in Hoodi offered development rights equal to twice the area given up, with no cash (Deccan Herald, headline and summary only; page not accessible to us).

The weak points have been consistent: no transparent market to price or trade DRCs, slow issue of certificates and repeated office visits (Citizen Matters; News Karnataka, 15 September 2024). That is the context for both the 400% proposal and the October 2026 gazette's on-site route, which lets the benefit be used in your own building plan rather than sold.

Premium FAR vs TDR vs on-site FAR

For a plot owner on a road due for widening, the on-site route may now be simpler than chasing TDR certificates, because the benefit is used in your own building plan (our reading). For a buyer of a flat, check whether the project used surrendered-land FAR, premium FAR or TDR, and that the sanctioned plan shows it.

  • Premium FAR: bought from the authority, capped at 40% of permissible FAR, for sites on roads at least 9 m wide; the charge cannot fall below 28% of the developed-site guidance value per sq m (Meraqi Advisors, on notification UDD 78 MNJ 2024(E) of 21 February 2025).
  • TDR on top: up to 20% of permissible FAR depending on road width (Meraqi Advisors).
  • On-site FAR for road land: twice the permissible FAR on the land you hand over, from 17 October 2026 (NammaWard).

If your property is in a road-widening line

  • Get the road's proposed width and building line in writing from the GBA or planning authority.
  • Check the Revised Master Plan and any road circulation plan: Bengaluru Road Circulation Map 2026: Check Your Plot, Object.
  • Compare the three routes before agreeing: compensation, TDR, or relinquishment with on-site FAR and setback relief.
  • Keep the relinquishment deed and the khata update showing the reduced site area.
  • If buying, ask whether any part of the plot was relinquished and how the remaining site area was recorded.