Source : INDIA TODAY NEWS
BJP MP Tejasvi Surya has attacked Karnataka’s proposed Bengaluru tunnel road, calling it the “costliest road in the world” and alleging that the 18-km project will worsen the city’s traffic crisis while taking away precious park land.
Speaking at the India Today Karnataka Roundtable in Bengaluru, Surya said the state government’s own Detailed Project Report (DPR) acknowledges that the tunnel road will not solve Bengaluru’s congestion problem. He also cited an Indian Institute of Science (IISc) traffic simulation that, according to him, reached a similar conclusion.
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Surya said the tunnel would not ease congestion despite the findings and argued that the project would primarily benefit private car users while excluding buses, autorickshaws and other forms of public transport.
“This project is not a transportation project. This is an out-and-out real estate project,” Surya said.
He alleged that the government was pushing ahead with the project despite evidence that it would not solve Bengaluru’s traffic problem.
‘600 CARS OR 60,000 PEOPLE?’
Surya argued that the government should invest in public transport instead of expanding road capacity. He cited the IISc simulation to claim that an alternative tunnel metro built with the same investment could transport around 60,000 people per hour per direction, while the proposed road would carry only about 600 cars.
“Should you be building infrastructure to transport 600 cars, or should you be building infrastructure to transport 60,000 people per hour per direction? It’s common sense,” he said.
Surya also pointed to Bengaluru’s Comprehensive Mobility Plan, which aims to get around 70% of the city’s population to use public transport**.
He said this required a faster expansion of the metro network rather than another road project. According to Surya, no new metro line proposal had been given to Bengaluru during the Karnataka government’s three-and-a-half-year tenure. He also criticised the slow progress of the suburban rail project.
‘DPR USES MALEGAON TRAFFIC DATA’
Surya questioned the credibility of the DPR, alleging that it contains traffic figures from Malegaon in Maharashtra, rather than Bengaluru or Karnataka.
“When people pointed this mistake out, BBMP officials imposed a five-lakh-rupee fine on the consultant, but stuck to the same DPR,” he alleged.
He said the proposed tunnel could also impose a toll of around Rs 600 for a two-way journey. Surya estimated the project cost at around Rs 39,000-40,000 crore, with the proposed cost working out to around Rs 1,400 crore per kilometre.
He described it as potentially the world’s most expensive road project on a per-kilometre basis.
LALBAGH LAND BECOMES ANOTHER FLASHPOINT
Surya alleged that the project would require the government to acquire six acres of Lalbagh and allow the concessionaire to build commercial and parking complexes there.
He linked the issue to the Karnataka government’s recent amendment to the Karnataka Parks Preservation Act, which he said permits the diversion of up to 5% of park land for infrastructure projects.
According to Surya, 5% of Lalbagh would amount to around 12 acres, while the corresponding figure for Cubbon Park would be nearly 16 acres. “This is Garden City of India, and the government has launched a war against the gardens and parks of the city,” he said.
Surya claimed the state government had filed an affidavit in court stating that it would permanently acquire five acres of Lalbagh land.
He also alleged that former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah had earlier assured people that not even an inch of Lalbagh would be taken but subsequently went back on that assurance.
‘PROJECT TO FINANCE 2028 ELECTIONS’
Surya further alleged that the tunnel road was being pushed to generate money for the 2028 Karnataka Assembly elections. “This is a project made to loot money. It is a project to finance the 2028 Vidhan Sabha election,” he alleged.
He also alleged that the project involved a kickback but did not provide evidence for the claim.
Surya cited environmentalist Yellappa Reddy, saying Reddy had publicly questioned the government about an alleged kickback from the contractor.
Surya said citizens would rather raise money themselves to protect Lalbagh and Cubbon Park if that was what it took to stop the project.
‘PUBLIC TRANSPORT IS THE ANSWER’
Surya said Bengaluru’s traffic problem could not be solved simply by adding more roads. “World over, no city in the world has ever solved traffic by increasing the road space or increasing the availability of roads,” he said.
He compared expanding road capacity to “an obese man trying to lose weight by increasing the size of his belt”.
Surya cited Bangkok, where he said extensive highways and expressways had not eliminated congestion, and pointed to Tokyo as an example of a city where high public transport usage could help manage traffic.
He said Bengaluru needs around 15,000 buses, according to the Comprehensive Mobility Plan, but currently has only around 6,000.
He also criticised the pace of the suburban rail project and the condition of the Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC), saying the state needs to strengthen basic public transport before taking up large road projects.
‘FIX THE BASICS FIRST’
Surya rejected the charge that the BJP was opposing the tunnel road simply because it was in Opposition. “A responsible opposition has two responsibilities: to support what is good and to oppose what is bad,” he said.
He said he had supported the Karnataka government’s campaign to clean Bengaluru and its efforts to remove encroachments from footpaths. He also pointed to his support for the Bangalore Business Corridor project.
But he said that did not mean the Opposition would support every project in the name of development.
Surya also criticised Bengaluru’s metro fares, claiming the fare had risen to Rs 90, which he described as the highest in the country, after the state government withdrew financial support for subsidising tickets.
“Let the government fix the basics first, before giving us exotic tunnel roads,” he said. Surya said the government should prioritise pothole-free roads, more buses and faster metro expansion, particularly to improve the experience of two-wheeler and public transport users.
His central argument was that Bengaluru needs infrastructure that moves people rather than private cars, and that the proposed tunnel road, in his view, fails that test.
– Ends
SOURCE :- TIMES OF INDIA
