BENGALURU: “Why did you whitetop a road (JC Road to NR Road) when you knew that a flyover would be built there? Is it not a waste of money,” questioned Bengaluru Development Minister Krishna Byre Gowda in his maiden meeting with officials from Bengaluru Smart Infrastructure Limited (B-SMILE) -- the Special Purpose Vehicle of Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA), here on Monday. To lay 1 km of a concrete road, the government spends over Rs 10 crore.
Pulling up B-SMILE Director BS Prahallad and his team of engineers, the minister said it is a waste of money to whitetop a road, break it and then build a flyover. Later addressing the media, he said there is an intention to build an elevated corridor of 150 km and this year, plans are on to build 75 km of it.
At the meeting, the minister, in the presence of Greater Bengaluru Authority Chief Commissioner M Maheshwar Rao, was seen rapping Prahallad, who was struggling to justify the whitetopping work.
At the press conference, the minister said instructions have been given to make a comprehensive plan for various development works being undertaken by B-Smile and to implement them effectively. He said that a long discussion was held on finding a solution to the long-standing traffic congestion in Bengaluru.
“Chief Minister DK Shivakumar has already prepared a blueprint for the programmes to be undertaken by B-Smile to provide a long-term solution to traffic problems, and many projects are at the implementation stage. I have not given any new suggestions. The discussions were held on the speedy and proper implementation of the projects already prepared,” he said.
150km elevated corridor
As a long-term solution to traffic congestion in the city, a target has been set to construct 150 km elevated corridors. Of this, tenders will be invited for the construction of 75 km corridors. All necessary preparations have been made, he said.
Defending the Congress government move on white-topping in the past, he said, “If roads with high traffic congestion in the city deteriorate, public will face a lot of trouble. In this context, white topping work has been undertaken on major roads since 2016. This work will be helpful in maintaining the main roads in a good condition, preventing repeated deterioration and building roads that will last 20-30 years. To white-top a kilometre of road costs Rs 10 crore, while for asphalting it is around Rs 5 crore. But asphalting has to be done 5-6 times during the same period, which escalates cost. That is why the white topping work is being undertaken to build long-lasting and pothole-free roads, he said.
Complete pending work in 6 months
Already, 196 km of white topping has been completed. New construction for 126 km of road is in progress, while 58 km has been completed. Instructions have been given to speed up the remaining work and complete it in the next six months. He said the authorities should put appropriate pressure on the contractors and complete the work quickly. “The Karnataka government has allocated Rs. 3,000 crore for 2026-27. The DPR has been prepared for the construction of a 450-km-long white topping road at a cost of Rs 1,000 crore. All processes are in the final stage, and tenders will be invited soon, he said.
Tunnel project
On the 16.7 km-long, tunnel road project, the tender has been completed and sent for government approval. The project will be implemented after the approval of the cabinet. This is a complex and important project, and its full details will be shared in the coming days. He said tenders will be invited in the next phase for the construction of a 22km-long tunnel from Old Madras Road to Mysore Road under the East-West Tunnel Project.